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JOHNA.SEAVERNS 


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TRAINING 


THE  Trotting  Horse 


A  NATURAL  AND  IMPR0\':ED  METHOD  OP 

EDUCATING   TROTTING    COLTS    AND   HORSES.    BASED  ON 
TWENTY  YEARS'   EXPERIENCE. 

By  CHARLES  MARVIN, 

Supenntendeiit  of  Palo  Alto  Farm,  Menlo  Park,  California. 

ILLUSTRATED. 

J^^OURTH   EDITION. 


EDITED  BY 

LESLIE  E.  MACLEOD, 

EDITOR    OF   THE   CHICAGO    HORSEMAN. 


PENNSYLVANIA  : 

THE  MAEVm  PUBLISHING  COMPAISTY,  Ltd., 
Franklin,  Venango  Co. 

1893. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress  in  the  year  1890  by 

MAHVIN  PUBLISHING  CO.,  Ltd., 
in  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  Washington,  D.  C. 


[all  rights  reserved.] 


Chas.  D.  Sibley,  Peinter,  18  Rose,  sjtrhet,  New  York. 


TO   THE 

Honorable  Leland  Stanford, 

TO  WHOSE   GENIUS,  THQICGHT  AND   ENTERPRISE  THE  SYSTEM  OF 

TRAINING  EXPLAINED  HEREIN  IS  MAINLY  DUE,  THIS 

WORK  IS  DEDICATED  AS  A  SLIGHT  TOKEN 

OF  RESPECT  AND  GRATITUDE  BY 

The  Author. 


EDITOR'S  PREFACE. 


Although  the  title  page  of  this  book  is  perhaps  a 
sufficient  preface,  a  word  as  to  its  origin  and  prepara- 
tion is  due  the  reader. 

For  pubhshing  tlie  book  no  apology  is  required. 
Whether  it  will  fill  a  ''  long-felt  want"  or  not  is  for  the 
public  to  decide ;  but  that  the  want  exists  no  one  can 
doubt. 

What  the  Palo  Alto  system  of  training  has  accom« 
plished  is  the  best  guarantee  of  its  excellence.  The 
system  under  which  are  developed  animals  to  break 
the  world's  record  at  all  ages,  from  one  year  old  to  four 
years  old,  speaks  for  itself.  In  common  with  many 
others,  I  have  long  recognized  in  Charles  Marvin  the 
greatest  of  trotting-horse  trainers,  or  perhaps  I  should 
say  educators.  He  seemed  peculiarly  the  genius  of 
his  profession.  His  friends  reasoned  that  a  book  on 
training  was  wanted — and  who  so  fit  to  write  it  as  the 
master  trainer  ?  Mr,  Marvin  is  a  modest  man,  and  it 
was  only  in  deference  to  the  repeated  urging  of  his 
friends  that  he  consented,  with  the  assistance  of  an 
editor,  to  undertake  the  work. 


VI  EDITOR  S    PREFACE. 

In  January,  1889,  I  visited  Palo  Alto  for  the  pur- 
pose of  assisting  Mr.  Marvin  in  the  preparation  of  the 
material  for  this  work ;  and  remained  with  him  three 
months  studying  his  methods  by  day,  and  writing  from 
his  dictation  for  several  hours  each  evening. 

In  preparing  the  book  for  the  press  the  aim  has  been 
in  the  simplest  and  most  faithful  phrase  to  record  Mr. 
Marvin's  ideas,  mstructions  and  explanations  in  his 
own  plain  manner.  The  endeavor  has  been  to  write  a 
book  in  such  simple  and  clear  English  that  ever}^  stable- 
bo}^  who  aspires  to  be  a  trainer  may  read  understand- 
ingly ;  and  at  the  same  time  we  hope  that  the  breeders 
and  the  most  intelligent  trotting-horsemen  of  all  classes 
in  the  land  wnll  find  in  its  pages  something  of  interest 
and  of  instruction. 

An  apology  is  due  the  public  for  the  delay  in  pub- 
lishing the  work,  and  I  wish  to  say  that  for  that  delay 
I  am  alone  responsible.  The  work  of  preparing  the 
material  for  the  press  was  many  times  greater  than  I 
anticipated,  and  was  a  labor,  but  a  pleasant  one,  under- 
taken in  connection  with  other  duties  that  of  them- 
selves should  sufficiently  employ  one  man's  time.  Time, 
like  the  horses,  seems  to  go  faster  in  California  than 
elsewhere.  I  cannot  recall  any  period  in  life  more 
pleasant  than  the  three  bright,  delightful  months  of 
congenial  work,  congenial  companionship  and  congenial 
surroundings  at  Palo  Alto,  and  the  daj^s  flew  by  on 
hurrying  wings.     Still  the  "raAv  material"  gathered 


EDITOK  S    PREFACE.  VU 

in  that  time  was  quite  voluminous,  and  the  work  of 
editing  it  called  for  an  expenditure  of  time  and  labor 
which,  I  presume,  no  one  can  appreciate  who  has  not 
tried  his  hand  at  the  "  making  of  books." 

I  have  to  here  cordially  and  thankfully  acknowledge 
the  assistance  kindly  afforded  me  by  Mr.  Ariel  Lathrop 
(the  manager  of  Senator  Stanford's  vast  interests  in 
California)  in  placing  at  my  disposal  plans,  drawings, 
and  other  material  for  use  herein. 

In  the  hope  that  this  book  may  be  welcomed  into 
the  libraries  of  the  trotting-horse  breeders  and  trainers 
of  America,  it  is  submitted  to  the  public,  not  without  a 
sense  of  its  imperfections,  nor  yet  without  confidence 
that  in  it  will  be  recognized  sufficient  merit  to  assure 
it  a  place  among  standard  works  on  the  trotting-horse. 

L.  E.  M. 

ISTew  York  City,  April,  1890. 


IX 


LETTER  FROM   JOSEPH   CAIRIN"  SIMPSOIST. 


The  following  interesting  letter  is  from  the  author 

of  "Tips  and  Toe-Weights;"    "Horse   Portraiture," 

etc.,  and  breeder  and  trainer  of  Anteeo,  2:16J,  and 

Antevolo,  2:19J. 

Oakland,  Cal.,  Feb.  7,  1890. 
Leslie  E.  Macleod,  Esq. 

My  Deak  Sir  :  Agreeably  to  your  request,  I  send  tliis  sliort 
•  etter,  in  relation  to  mv  opinion  of  Cliarles  Marvin  as  an  edu- 
rjator  and  driver  of  trotters.  It  is  always  a  pleasant  task  to  me  to 
write  words  of  commendation  wlien  there  is  merit  to  warrant 
eulogistic  phrases,  and  that  Mr.  Marvin  presents  a  case  exactly  to  my 
mind,  those  who  are  as  well  acquainted  with  him,  his  methods, 
and,  above  all,  his  strict  honor  and  integrity,  as  I  am,  will  concede. 

Personally,  the  acquaintance  dates  from  Mr.  Marvin's  residence  in 
California,  though  before  I  left  the  East,  now  nearly  sixteen  years 
ago,  I  had  received  letters  which  gave  me  an  insight  into  his  character 
and  his  ability  as  the  handler  of  trotters. 

It  will  not  be  out  of  place  to  rehearse  how  that  knowledge  was 
obtained.  In  1873,  I  was  employed,  by  Charles  Schvv-artz  and  A.  S. 
Gage,  to  take  charge  of  Dexter  Park,  which  those  gentlemen  had 
rented  of  Messrs.  Sherman  and  Tucker.  During  the  early  summer 
I  received  several  letters  from  the  owner  of  Smuggler,  giving  full 
descriptions  of  the  horse,  his  rapid  improvement  under  the  charge  of 
Marvin,  in  fact,  a  minute  account  of  whatever  would  be  likely  to 
interest  a  purchaser.  As  a  "token  of  good  faith"  he  offered  to 
deposit,  to  my  order,  whatever  funds  were  required  for  the  expenses 
of  the  trip,  remuneration  to  whoever  made  the  journey,  and  if  the 
truth  of  his  statement  was  not  fully  endorsed  by  the  facts,  the  funds 


X  LETTER    FROM   JOSEPH    CAIRN    SIMPSON. 

provided  should  be  drawn  upon  to  cover  the  whole  outlay.  He  par- 
ticularly referred  to  the  trainer  as  a  man  worthy  of  the  fullest  confi- 
dence, and  that  this  certificate  of  good  character  would  be  signed  by 
all  who  were  intimate  with  him. 

I  was  so  strongly  impressed  with  the  evident  candor  of  the  writer 
that  I  urged  Messrs.  Schwartz  and  Gage  to  join  me  in  the  purchase. 
The  price  at  that  time  was  $6,000,  and  there  was  a  good  chance  to 
"  win  him  out "  at  the  meeting,  which  was  to  be  held  in  July.  There 
was  a  partial  agreement,  and  I  was  preparing  to  make  the  journey 
when  something  came  in  the  way,  and  the  preparations  for  the  meet- 
ing, at  which  $40,000  were  **hung  up,"  engrossed  my  attention,  and 
the  idea  of  purchasing  was  abandoned. 

He  was  to  show  2:30  or  better,  and  only  a  few  weeks  previous  to  his 
first  letter  he  was  far  behind  that  figure.  Writing  from  memory  I  cannot 
state  positively  what  the  improvement  was,  though  it  certainly  demon- 
strated that  there  were  the  best  of  grounds  for  believing  that  he  was 
destined  to  become  a  very  fast  trotter.  The  history  of  Smuggler  is 
so  well  known  that  there  is  no  necessity  for  amplification,  further 
than  to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  Mr.  Marvin  took  him  when  he 
was  regarded  of  "little  account,"  and  carried  him  through  the  whole 
of  his  education  until  he  reached  the  summit  of  the  temple  of  equine 
fame. 

I  hold  that  the  talent  necessary  to  be  a  successful  trainer  of 
trotters,  especially  youngsters,  is  more  rarely  met  than  the  same 
amount  of  ability  as  a  driver  in  races.  And  there  is  another  point 
worthy  of  consideration,  that  a  man  who  has  been  eminently  suc- 
cessful as  a  teacher  rarely,  if  ever,  fails  to  be  a  good  driver  in  races, 
whereas  some  of  the  renowned  knights  of  the  sulky  are  far  from 
being  in  the  front  rank  of  the  profession,  or  that  part  of  it  which 
consists  in  carrying  animals  from  the  primary  schools  to  the  first 
place  in  the  graduating  classes.  There  is  a  great  deal  of  nonsensical 
talk,  and  not  a  little  arrant  humbug  in  the  learned  disquisitions 
which  are  heard  when  race-driving  is  the  topic. 

The  jangle  of  words  indulged  in  on  such  occasions  would  be  amus- 
ing were  it  not  that  insidious  comparisons,  and,  at  times,  malicious 
attacks  are  made  by  men  who  have  small  knowledge  of  the  business, 
although  their  dogmatical  assertions  mislead  people  who  are  not  con- 
versant with  trotting  affairs.  Mr.  Marvin  is  unquestionably  a  driver 
of  the  highest  class,  and  it  would  be  eminently  a  work  of  superero- 
gation to  present  long  arguments  to  prove  that  he  possesses  that 
faculty. 


LETTER    FROM   JOSEPH    CAIRX    SIMPSON.  XI 

It  may  be  considered  equally  useless  to  lay  so  much  stress  on 
his  handling  colts,  as  nearly  every  "best  record"  has  been  made 
by  colts  that  he  has  trained,  and  driven  to  that  record.  The  word 
"  nearly  "  can  be  cancelled  as  in  the  foregoing  sentence,  as 
yearling,  two-year-old  and  three-year-old  are  to  his  credit,  as  the  last 
year  of  colthood,  four  years  old,  is  a  dead  heat  for  place,  and  that  he 
will  "break  the  tie"  in  1890  is  just  as  certain  as  anything  of  that 
nature  can  be  foretold.  Nothing  so  convincing  as  success.  Argue 
as  we  may,  present  evidence  piled  upon  testimony  to  prove  that 
results  should  never  have  followed  the  practices  which  brought  the 
desired  return.  Success  is  mightier  than  theories,  however  plausible. 
But  granting  that  the  proof  of  both  educating  ability  and  race-driv- 
ing ability  in  Mr.  Marvin,  as  shown  by  the  records,  is  so  strong  that 
a  mere  statement  is  all  that  is  necessary,  it  will  be  in  keeping  to 
consider  the  elements  which  entitle  him  to  the  rank  I  have  conferred. 
The  case  instanced,  that  of  Smuggler,  is  a  good  beginning  ;  his  sub- 
sequent victories  overshadow  that,  and,  as  there  is  constant  pro- 
gression on  his  part,  it  is  manifest  that  he  has  been  educating  himself 
as  well  as  the  renowned  colts  which  have  been  his  pupils. 

Although  I  have  never  questioned  Mr.  Marvin  on  this  point,  from 
what  is  known  it  is  a  fair  inference  that  the  system  formerly  pursued 
was  similar  to  that  in  vogue,  and  which  was  practiced  by  the  best 
trainers  of  the  period. 

At  Palo  Alto  there  were  startling  innovations,  "established 
methods  "  ruthlessly  cast  aside,  and  in  place  of  pursuing  systems, 
endorsed  by  such  a  number  of  professors  that  only  a  shadow  of  a 
minority  questioned  the  practices,  new  ideas  prevailed,  Mr.  Mar- 
vin had  sense  enough  to  understand,  and  wisdom  to  follow  advice 
which  had  the  backing  of  sound  sense.  It  may  seem  singular  to 
those  who  are  not  intimately  acquainted  with  the  training  of  horses, 
especially  fast  harness-horses,  that  there  should  be  any  hesitancy  in 
accepting  advice  from  owners,  or  other  qualified  persons,  but  those 
who  have  had  the  experience  will  agree  with  me,  that  very  many 
trainers  appear  to  regard  suggestions  as  an  implication  of  ignorance, 
and  resent  it  in  some  way.  I  have  frequently  heard  the  Palo  Alto 
system  of  training  commented  upon  by  trainers,  and  by  those  which  it 
takes  a  good  deal  of  courtesy  to  include  in  that  list,  and  the  latter 
named  class  particularly  prone  to  denounce  the  departures. 

As  an  illustration  of  the  prevailing  dislike  to  "  obey  orders,"  when 
the  management  of  horses  is  the  theme,  during  Mr.  Marvin's  absence 


Xll  LETTER    FROM   JOSEPH    CAIRN    SIMPSON. 

in  the  East  it  was  found  necessary  to  put  hurdles  across  the  track  to 
compel  that  the  work  should  be  limited  to  short  brushes.  That  Mr. 
Marvin  was  not  imbued  with  such  silly  notions  was  fortunate  all 
around.  Fortunate  for  Governor  Stanford  to  get  a  man  who  could 
understand  what  he  wanted  done,  and  with  ability  to  execute  ; 
fortunate  for  himself  by  being  placed  in  a  position  where  his  talents 
could  be  shown  ;  fortunate  for  the  horse  interests  of  California,  and, 
for  that  matter,  for  the  whole  country,  by  introducing  methods  of 
management  which  had  been  tested  by  the  only  true  formula,  years 
of  patient,  indefatigable  work.  Results  have  not  been  confined  to 
"  beating  the  record  "  so  frequently.  Nor  has  the  limit  been  reached 
when  the  many  races  he  won  are  brought  together.  Horses  bred  at 
Palo  Alto  are  prominent  in  every  State  Avhich  pays  much  attention  to 
the  breeding  of  fast  trotters.  Celebrated  at  home  and  abroad,  for 
qualities  which  are  prized  by  purchasers,  they  find  ready  sale  at 
prices  which,  a  few  years  ago,  would  have  been  regarded  as  far 
beyond  the  value  of  any  horse.  And  these  values  have  not  been 
confined  to  a  few  of  the  produce  of  sires  and  dams  still  owned  at  Palo 
Alto. 

Fifty-one  thousand,  fifty  thousand,  twenty  thousand  dollars,  and 
with  a  number  more,  ranging  from  five  to  twenty  thousand  dollars, 
money  actually  paid,  is  the  best  proof  of  their  market  value.  Large 
offers  reported  are  delusive.  It  is  easy  to  make  offers  which  have 
prearranged  refusals  for  a  basis,  and  which  carry  small  influence 
with  close  observers ;  but  money  paid  and  animals  transferred  pre- 
clude all  ideas  of  humbug,  and  is  a  stamp  of  merit  which  rabid 
jealousy  cannot  successfully  impugn. 

Next  to  Governor  Stanford,  Mr.  Marvin  must  be  credited  with 
bringing  about  this  result.  As  stated  j^reviously,  the  willingness  to 
learn  is  one  of  the  most  praiseworthy  traits  in  his  character. 

Relinquishing  old  and  firmly-set  habits  is  a  difficult  task,  and  to 
give  up  cherished  ideas  a  mark  of  intelligence. 

Before  being  competent  to  teach,  a  man  must  have  been  a  pupil. 
After  having  passed  through  one  educational  course,  it  is  still  more 
difficult  to  cast  aside  the  lessons  of  that,  and  practice  what  previous 
teachings  had  classed  in  the  category  of  errors. 

Then,  too,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  when  Mr.  Marvin  became 
the  pupil  of  Governor  Stanford,  the  course  marked  out  was  com- 
paratively untried.  There  had  been,  perhaps,  an  approximation  to 
the  systems  inaugurated  at  Palo  Alto,  but  without  a  practical  test 


LETTER    FROM   JOSEPH    CAIRN   SIMPSON.  Xlll 

approacliing  the    magnitude    of    what   was    contemplated    by  Lis 
employer. 

Xo  one  had  preceded  him  in  carrying  out  the  designs  on  the 
trestle  board,  and  I  again  repeat  that  it  was  fortunate  to  every 
one  concerned  that  he  was  the  first. 

In  recalling  the  many  educators  of  trotters  I  have  known,  there  is 
^ot  another  who  was  so  well  fitted  for  the  place. 

To  give  my  reasons  for  this  opinion  would  demand  more  space 
than  is  permissible  in  this  letter,  and  there  is  little  require- 
ment for  elaborate  arguments  when  subsequent  facts  are  taken  into 
consideration.  Much  is  subsequent  to  the  time  when  Mr.  Marvin 
took  his  residence  at  Palo  Alto  ;  and,  from  1880,  when  Fred  Crocker 
lowered  the  two-year-old  record  to  2:25^,  until  1889,  when  Sunol 
smashed  the  three-year-old,  and  made  the  marvelous  mark  of  2:10i^, 
there  have  been  a  succession  of  victories,  an  unparalled  array  of 
events  to  prove  that  the  most  sanguine  expectations  were  justified, 
and  that  reasons  for  holding  the  opinion  advanced  are  superfluous. 

Truly  yours, 

Jos.  Cairn  Simpson. 


List  of  Horses  to  WMcli  Claries  laryiii  Gaye  Recorfls. 


Sunol,  tliree-year-old 2 :10| 

Sunol,  two-year-old 2:18 

Palo  Alto.  .* 2:12i 

Palo  Alto,  four-year-old 2:20J 

Smuggler '. 2:15^ 

Manzanita,  four-year-old 2:16 

Manzanita,  three-year-old 2:23|- 

Manzanita,  two-year-old 2 :25 

Sallie  Benton,  four-year  old 2:17f 

Bonita,  four-year-old 2:18f 

Bonita,  two-year  old 2:24^ 

Hinda  Rose,  three-year-old 2 :19^ 

Hinda  Rose,  yearling 2 :36i 

Tucker  .....' 2 :19i 

Alfred  G.,  four-vear-old 2:19| 

Elaine ! 2:20 

Ansel 2:20 

Express 2:21 

Sport 2:22f 

Lorita 2:22f 

Maiden,  three-year-old 2:23 

Abe  Edgington. 2:23^ 

Rexford,  three-year-old 2:24 

Alban \ 2:24 

Carrie  C. ,  four-year-old 2 :24 

Clifton  Bell,  four-year-old 2:24^ 

Sphinx,  four-year-old 2:24| 

Azmoor 2 :24^ 

St.  Bel,  four-year-old 2:24^ 

Arol ' 2:24 

Clay 2:25 

Fred  Crocker,  two-year-old 2:25;^ 

Carlisle " 2:26i 

Marion .....2:26f 

Whips 2:27i 

Cubic 2 :27i 

Emaline 2:27^ 

Pedlar,  two-vear-old 2:27i 

Clay ". 2:28 

Palo  Alto  Belle,  two-year-old 2:28i 

Capt.  Smith 2 :29 

Essex 2:29 

Ella,  two-year-old  2 :29 

Albion 2 :29 

Del  Mar,  two-year-old 2:30 

Norlaine,  yearling  . .  . , 2:31^ 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Page. 
Portrait  of  Charles  Marvin .frontispiece. 

Smuggler 59 

Portrait  of  Hon.  Leland  Stanford {facing)    82 

View  of  Palo  Alto  Stables  and  Track {facing)    90 

Diagram  of  Palo  Alto  Stables  and  Track 93 

HiNDA  Rose {facing)  123 

St.  Bel {facing)  127 

Manzanita {facing)  149 

Palo  Alto {facing)  154 

NoRLAiNE {facing)  167 

SuNOL {facing)  177 

Diagram  A— Covered  Training-Paddock 198 

Diagram  B— Training-Paddock 199 

Boots 264,  265 

Palo  Auto  Shoe 276 

Electioneer , {facing)  S21 


XVll 


CONTENTS. 


Page. 

BlOGKAPHICAL  SKETCH  OF  THE   AUTHOR 17 


CHAPTER  I. 

Why  tlie  Book  is  Written— A  Profession  Without  Teachers  or 
Text-Books— Our  System  of  Training  Original— Order  of  the 
Work— Early  Experiences  With  Horses— My  First  Trotters — 
Dan,  the  Chestnut  Saddle-Horse — Clipper — Rutland  Girl — 
George— Sealskin  and  Olive  Dunton— The  Great  Smuggler 28 

CHAPTER  II. 

The  Great  Smuggler  — His  Origin  and  Blood  — How  He  was 
Named — Given  Marvin  to  Train — How  Smuggler  was  Con- 
verted to  Trot  — Weight -Carrying— Success  at  Last,  and 
Rapid  Improvement— Fast  Trials  and  Sale  of  Smuggler  to 
Colonel  Russell— The  Great  Race  at  Buffalo,  Won  by  Thomas 
Jefferson— Adverse  Criticism  of  "  The  Western  Hoosier  " 33 

CHAPTER  III. 

Smuggler  "  Under  the  Weather"- A  Famous  Springfield  Black- 
smith Gets  at  Him  — He  Wins  His  First  Race,  Defeating 
Wellesley  Boy— George  Wilkes'  Compliment— He  Wins  the 
Great  Stallion  Race  at  Boston— Record  2:20—1875  An  Off 
Year— Judge  Fullerton  Defeated  and  the  Stallion  Record 
Lowered  to  2:17 44 


XVlll  CONTENTS. 

Page, 
CHAPTER  IV. 

The  Great  Race  with  Goldsmith  Maid — The  Details  of  the  Most 
Memorable  Race  of  the  Centennial  Year — A  Close  Call — "  S. 
T.  H.'s  "  Graphic  Description 54 

CHAPTER  V. 

The  Free- for- All  Battles  Down  the  Line  — From  Cleveland  to 
Springfield— Great  Race  at  Hartford— 1877  a  Poor  Year  for 
Smuggler — Taken  to  California — Breaks  Down  in  the  Spring 
of  1878  and  Sent  Home— Good-by  to  Smuggler 73 


CHAPTER  VI. 

First  Visit  to  Palo  Alto— Sketch  of  Its  Illustrious  Founder  and 
Proprietor,  Leland  Stanford — His  Genius  as  a  Horseman,  His 
Pure  Character,  and  His  Munificent  Charities— The  History 
of  Palo  Alto  in  Brief  Outline — A  Scientific  Demonstration  of 
the  Positions  of  Animals  in  Motion 81 

CHAPTER    VII. 

ffistory  of  Palo  Alto  Continued— First  Trials  of  the  Palo  Alto 
System  Unsuccessful  —  Reasons  Therefor  —  Some  General 
Observations  on  Training  and  Trainers — Occident  and  Abe 
Edgington  Campaigns  Briefly  Outlined  from  1878  to  1889 — 
The  Great  Campaign  of  1886— Plans  for  1888  Frustrated  by 
Fire — Further  Successes 96 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Sketches  of  Famous  Animals  Trained  at  Palo  Alto— The  Stars  of 
Ten  Years  Ago— Occident  the  First  Horse  to  Beat  2:17— The 
Strange  History  of  His  Sire— Old  St.  Clair— Abe  Edgington— 
The  Half-Brothers,  Clay  and  Capt.  Smith— The  Great  Mare 
Elaine,  2-20  — Fred  Crocker,  the  First  Palo  Alto  Record- 
Breaker 107 


CONTENTS .  XIX 

Page. 
CHAPTER   IX. 

The  Great  Trio,Wildflower,  Bonita  and  Hinda  Rose — Wildfiower, 
tlie  Two- Year-Old  Cliampion  of  Her  Day — Bonita  a  Great 
Two- Year-Old  and  Cliampion  Four- Year-Old — Hinda  Rose, 
Cliampion  Yearling  and  Cliampion  Three- Year-Old  of  Her 
Time — Her  Great  Campaign  of  1883 — How  She  was  Shod 
and  Balanced — The  Career  of  the  Fastest  Young  Trotters 
that  Had  Yet  Been  Produced — A  Story  of  Record-Breaking 
by  Palo  Alto  Colts — Hinda  Rose's  Famous  Brother,  St.  Bel — 
His  Pure  Gait  and  His  Resolute  Performances 118 


CHAPTER   X. 

The  Great  Four-Year-Olds  of  1886— Manzanita  and  Palo  Alto— 
The  Breeding,  Training  and  History  of  Manzanita  —  The 
Memorable  Three-Year-Old  Battles  of  1885 — Manzanita  Beats 
Patron,  Silverone,  Eagle  Bird  and  Greenlander  at  Chicago — 
The  Smart  Men  Discover  a  "Quitter"  and  Pay  for  the  In- 
formation— The  Memorable  Race  for  the  Gasconade  Stakes 
at  the  St.  Louis  Fair — Patron  Wins  Through  Bad  Starting — 
A  Great  Stable  in  1886 133 


CHAPTER   XL 

Manzanita  as  a  Four- Year-Old  —  A  Race  Lost  by  Laying  Up 
Heats — She  Starts  Against  a  Great  Field  of  Aged  Horses  at 
Cleveland — Lowers  the  Four- Year-Old  Record  to  2 :16:^ — Beats 
Eagle  Bird  Easily  at  Maysville — Defeats  Greenlander  at  Lex- 
ington— The  Four- Year-Old  Record  Lowered  to  2:16 — Win- 
ning from  Greenlander  and  Haverstick  in  a  Jog — The  Glori- 
ous Victory  at  the  St.  Louis  Fair  Over  Patron — The  Defeat 
of  1885  Wiped  Out,  and  Manzanita's  Superiority  as  the 
Greatest  of  Four-Y"ear-01ds  Established — Her  Retirement — 
Her  Great  Qualities  as  a  Race-Mare 143 


XX  CONTENTS. 

Page, 
CHAPTER    XII. 

Palo  Alto,  the  Son  of  tte  Thorouglibred  Mare  Dame  Winnie — 
His  Early  Promise — The  Xame  of  " Palo  Alto"  Entrusted  to 
Him  to  Uphold — Almost  a  Clean  Sweep  in  His  Class  in  1886^ 
Beating  Aged  Campaigners  in  Long  Races — Only  One  De- 
feat and  Eight  Victories — Narrow  Escape  from  Death  by 
Fire — The  Brilliant  Campaign  of  1889 — Invincible  and  Un- 
beaten—Record 2:121 154 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Sudie  D.  Takes  the  Yearling  Honors  to  Kentucky  for  a  Brie/ 
Season— Norlaine,  the  Champion  Yearling— Her  Training — 
She  Breaks  Sudie  D.'s  Record  in  2:31*— Xorval,  2:17i,  Her 
gire — Sallie  Benton,  2:17f,  the  Champion  Four- Year-Old  of 
Her  Day— Helen,  2:22f- Sphinx,  2:23— Bell  Boy,  2:19^— 
Chimes  and  Suisun — Other  Stars 164 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Sunol,  the  Phenomenal  Trotter  of  the  Nineteenth  Century— Her 
Breeding  and  Her  Form — Her  Temper  and  Nervous  Organi- 
zation— Her  First  Lessons — Training  on  to  Greatness — Details 
of  How  She  was  Worked — Wins  Her  First  Race — Lowering 
the  Two- Year-Old  Record  to  2:20^ — Lowering  It  Again  to 
2:18— The  Winter  of  1888-9— A  List  of  Brilliant  Perform- 
ances—Champion Three- Year-Old  of  the  World— 2:10i 173 

CHAPTER   XV. 

A  Chapter  on  Early  Training— The  Subject  Considered  in  Various 
Phases — Hiram  Woodruff  and  His  Day — The  Advance  Since 
Then — Trotters  Now  Come  to  their  Speed  Early — The  Preju- 
dice Against  Early  Training  Passing  Away  —  A  Practical 
Necessity  With  Breeders  Who  Breed  for  Profit — Time  that 
Means  Money — The  Benefits  of  Early  Training  are  Lasting — 
It  Must  Not  Be  Overdone  —  The  Past  and  Present  Con- 
trasted   182 


CONTEXTS.  XXI 

Page. 
CHAPTER   XVI. 

The  First  Days  of  tlie  Colt's  Life — Weaning  Time — Feeding  Colt 
and  Dam — Haltering  and  Learning  to  Lead — The  Benefits  of 
Companionship  —  The  "Kindergarten"  —  The  Evolution  of 
the  Training-Paddock  —  Plans  and  Directions  —  The  Colt's 
First  Lesson  in  Training  to  Trot 193 


CHAPTER   XVn. 

Working  on  the  Miniature  Track  —  The  Daily  Performance — 
Amount  of  Work  Given — It  Must  Not  Be  Excessive — The 
Colt's  Confidence  to  he  Retained — Hitching — Working  with 
a  Runner — An  fnnatural  Method  of  Training — Balance  and 
Stride — The  Benefit  of  the  Training  Paddock — Developing 
Speed,  Wind  and  Muscle  Xaturall y 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Young  Colts  to  he  Liherally  Fed — Colts  Can  Be  Safely  Worked 
Twice  a  Day  if  Xecessity  Requires  It — Breaking  to  Harness — 
The  Bitting  Rig — Learning  to  Go  hy  the  Rein— In  Double 
Harness  First — Then  in  Single  Harness — Skeleton  Wagon 
Before  Sulky — Find  Out  What  You  are  Going  to  Do  Before 
You  Try  to  Do  It — Adopt  a  Programme — The  Xecessity  of 
Keeping  the  Gait  Square  and  Preserving  the  Xatural  Bal- 
ance  211 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

First  Work  in  Harness — Sharp  Brushes— Avoid  Jogging,  Sweat- 
ing and  Scraping — The  Colt  Must  Be  Kept  Strong  and  Stout — 
Colts  Cannot  All  Be  Worked  Alike — Imitation — All  Depends 
on  the  Trainer's  Fitness — An  Occasional  Let-Up — "  Speed, 
Speed,  More  Speed,"  the  Great  Essential  —  Shoes  and 
Weights — Experience  with  Chimes  and  Clay 220 


XXU  CONTENTS. 

Page. 
CHAPTER    XX. 

Weiglit  in  the  Slioe — Use  and  Abuse — The  Last  Resort — When 
Weight  is  Needed — Reducing — Value  and  Necessity  of  Early 
Work  —  Early  Training  Necessary  for  Highest  Results  at 
Maturity — In  Accord  with  Science — The  HI  Effects  of  Neg- 
lected Education  —  A  Case  in  Point  —  A  Valuable  Mare 
Ruined — Work  Few  Miles,  if  Any — The  Mouth — Checking 
and  Driving  —  The  Colt  Not  to  Be  Controlled  by  Main 
Strength  —  To  Drive  with  "a  Silken  Thread"  —  Light 
Hands — No  Breaking  if  Possible — Catching — The  Whip — 
Side  Pulling 328 

CHAPTER  XXL 

Climatic  Conditions — The  Track- Work  of  the  Three-Year-Old — 
The  Speed- Mailing  Brushes — Speed  Wins  Races — Manzanita 
and  Patron — Brush  at  Different  Places  on  the  Track — Stop- 
ping at  Spots  and  Its  Remedy — Amount  of  Work  Given — 
Working  Twice  a  Day  when  Necessary — Another  Caution 
Against  Overdoing  It — A  Tired  Horse  Ripe  for  Break-Down — 
The  Error  of  Persistently  Driving  Fast  Miles — Working 
Mature  Horses — Work  Differs  Only  in  Degree — Excessive 
Reduction — Condition — Peculiarities  to  Be  Studied 2S8 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

Stables  and  Stabling  —  Palatial  Stables  Not  Necessary  —  The 
Prime  Essentials  Cleanliness,  Air  and  Light  —  Large  and 
Small  Barns — Advantages  or  the  Latter — Roomy  Boxes — 
Flooring  —  Clay  Floors — Bedding — Feeding — Cracked  and 
Ground  Food — Bran — Importance  of  Good  Quality  of  Food — 
Water — California  Climate  and  Grasses 248 

CHAPTER   XXIIL 

The  Daily  Programme  with  a  Horse  in  Training — The  Morning 
Meal  and  Exercise — Caring  for  Him  After  Work — Rubbing, 
Blanketing  and  Bandaging — Temperature  of  Stables — Cloth- 
ing—  Muzzles  —  Hoods  —  Good  Men  for  Rubbers  —  Boots — 
Some  Specially  Good  Patterns  of  Boots — Toe-Weights — Sel- 
dom Necessary  and  Much  Abused — The  Perfect  Trotter  Will 
Not  Wear  Them 257 


CONTEXTS.  XXlll 

Page; 
CHAPTER    XXIV. 

Stopping  the  Feet— Caring  for  tlie  Legs— The  Soaking-Tub— In- 
juries Resulting  from  Hot  Soaking— The  Composition  of  the 
Hoof— Shoeing— The  Elements  of  the  External  Anatomy  of 
the  Foot— The  Wall,  the  Sole,  the  Frog  and  the  Bars— Their 
Functions— The  Wall  the  Bearing  Part— The  Angle  of  the 
Foot  and  Pastern— Effects  of  High  and  Low  Heels— Level 
and  Bearing  to  be  Preserved— Stick  to  Nature— The  Shoe- 
Trimming  and  Nailing— Experience  with  Tips 268 


CHAPTER   XXV. 

Tracks— Shape  and  Treatment— The  Egg-Shaped  Track— The 
Cushion— Ready  for  Racing  Preparation— The  Colt  Must  Be 
Going  Square  — Checks  and  Bits  Again  —  Observations  of 
John  Splan  — His  Experience  with  Fanny  Witherspoon— 
Driving  with  a  Watch  — The  Preparation  for  Racing— A 
Week's  Daily  Programme  Detailed  —  Preserving  Speed 
while  Conditioning  the  Horse  to  Carry  It— Treatment  Varies 
with  Different  Horses— The  Importance  of  Proper  Jogging— 
The  Trainer  Must  Not  Trust  Details  Too  Much  to  His  Stable 
Assistants **^ 

CHAPTER   XXVI. 

The  Morning  of  the  Race— Preliminaries— Starting  and  Scoring- 
Going  for  the  Heat— What  to  Do  Between  Heats— Cooling 
Out— What  to  Do  if  the  Horse  Does  Not  Cool  Out  Properly 
and  is  Distressed— Stimulants— Feeding  in  a  Race— Have 
Everything  Ready  Beforehand— Mud  Shoes— Attend  to  Busi- 
ness and  Avoid  Tricks— Laying  Up  Heats— Driving  Requires 
Natural  Fitness— Judgment  of  Pace— The  Steady  Horse  Has 
the  Advantage— The  Exigencies  of  a  Heat— Keep  Cool  and 
Stay  With  Your  Horses 288 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 

Common  Injuries  and  Ailments  and  their  Treatment— Horses 
that  Trotted  After  Breaking  Down— Treating  Filled  Legs- 
Iodine— A  Favorite  Remedy— Curbs— Cracked  Heels— Dis- 
temper—Thrush— Quarter  Crack- Tender  Feet— The  Lockie- 
pad  Shoe— Splints— Sprung  Tendons- A  General  Caution 298 


XXIV  CONTENTS. 

Page. 
CHAPTER   XXVIII. 

The  Question  of  Breeding — Tlie  Importance  of  Form  and  Action — 
Action  Should  Be  Pure — "  Line- Trotting" — Structure  of  the 
Stallion  —  Action  and  Structure  of  Dam  —  Good  Mares  or 
None — Trotting-Blood  Should  Be  Good — Developed  Speed — 
Thoroughbred  Blood  —  Must  Be  Carefully  Selected  and 
Good — Its  Advantages  in  Finish  and  Quality,  Not  in  Game- 
ness — Viewing  the  Question  Without  Prejudice — Practices 
in  Breeding  —  Time  for  Breeding  the  Mare  —  Experiences 
•  with  Sprite,  Dolly  and  Flower  Girl — Trying  After  Breed- 
ing— Foaling  Time — Age  to  Breed  Mares — Number  Stallions 
Should  Be  Allowed  to  Serve — Dangers  of  Overbreeding 308 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

Nearing  the  End — A  Tribute  to  Electioneer — His  Breeding,  His- 
tory and  Characteristics — His  Speed — His  Roll  of  Honor  and 
Rank  as  a  Sire — The  Electioneer  Action — The  Electioneers  as 
Campaigners — General  Benton  —  Piedmont — Nephew — The 
St.  Clairs— The  Belmonts— The  Moors — Nutwood — Guy 
Wilkes— A.  W.  Richmond— Au  Revoir 318 

Appendix 331 


Training  the  Trotting  Horse. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  OF  THE   AUTHOR. 

When  in  any  field  of  endeavor,  a  man  achieves  that 
which  makes  him  famous,  Ave  are  not  content  merely 
to  study  what  he  has  accomphshed  and  how  he  has 
accomplished  it,  but  vre  are  curious  to  know  something 
of  the  life  and  individuality  of  the  man  himself.  Had 
it  been  left  to  the  unobtrusive  modesty  of  Charles 
Marvin,  the  record  of  his  life-work  would  probably 
not  be  supplemented  by  even  the  brief  sketch  of  his 
career  which  is  embraced  in  these  pages.  In  these 
days  when  "cheek"  so  often  passes  current  for  ability, 
it  indeed  becomes  genuine  merit  to  bear  itself  mod- 
estly ;  and  while  no  trainer  of  trotting  horses  has  ever 
approached  Charles  Marvin  in  successful  achievement, 
there  is  not  in  his  character  a  tinge  of  egotism,  or  in 
any  word  of  his  a  note  of  self  praise.  He  undertook 
the  authorship  of  this  book,  because  he  has  the  faith 
grounded  in  over  twenty  years  of  practical  experience 
that  what  we  for  convenience  call  the  Palo  Alto  sa^s- 
tem  of  training  trotting  horses  is  superior  to  any  other 
practiced,  and  he  felt  that  it  should  be  described  and 
taught  in  a  book  that  would  prove  a  standard  text- 


18  tkai]si:ng  the  trotting  horse. 

book  in  a  iielcl  where  such  a  \york  has  not  heretofore 
existed.  Xot  what  he  did,  but  what  he  learned,  he 
wished  to  tell ;  and  he  wished  to  tell  it  not  to  gratify 
personal  pride,  but  that  others  might  learn  from  his 
experiences.  The  idea  of  devoting  a  whole  book  to  re- 
citing the  personal  doings  of  a  trainer  and  driver  was 
always  repulsive  to  Mr.  Marvin,  as  it  necessarily  must 
be  to  a  man  with  aims  higher  than  self-glorification. 

He  took  the  broader,  wiser  view  that  not  what  a 
man  does^  but  idiat  he  can  teach,  interests  reading  and 
thinking  horsemen.  Throughout  the  preparation  of 
this  book  the  author  has,  in  teaching  how  to  train 
trotting  horses,  studiously  kept  his  own  personality  in 
the  backoTound  ;  but  the  editor  recognizes  that  the 
Avork  would  be  in  a  measure  imperfect  without  a  sketch 
of  the  author's  life,  and  in  the  following  pages  his 
career  is  outlined. 

Charles  Marvin  was  born  in  Springwater  VallcA^ 
Genesee  County,  Xew  York,  on  ^November  24,  1839. 
His  father,  Don  A.  Marvin,  was  by  occupation  a  farmer 
and  trader,  and  his  mother,  whose  maiden  name  was 
Thorne,  also  came  of  a  family  of  "tillers  of  the  soil." 
Mr.  Marvin's  paternal  descent  is  from  what  was  known 
in  family  genealogy  as  "  the  Hartford  branch  "  of  the 
Marvin  line.  His  father  was  directly  descended  in  the 
sixth  remove  from  Matthew  Marvin,  who  was  born  in 
England  earl}^  in  the  seventeenth  century,  emigrated 
to  America,  and  was  one  of  the  original  proprietors 
of  what  is  now  the  city  of  Hartford,  Connecticut. 

Charles  was  the  second  of  a  family  of  sev^en,  and  in 
their  youth  the  uneventful  lives  of  himself  and  his  five 
brothers  ran  in  the  same  groove  as  the  career  of  the 


"  WESTWARD    HO  !"  19 

averao^e  country  boy  of  the  time  and  place.  In  winter 
he  attended  school,  and  in  summer  assisted  in  the 
family  work,  and  necessarily  acquaintance  with  horses 
was  with  him,  as  with  all  boys  so  situated,  a  matter  of 
early  commencement.  His  skill  at  horsemanship  quickly 
manifested  itself,  and,  as  a  boy,  his  triumphs  were  in 
the  direction  of  managing  balky  horses,  and  in  excel- 
lent riding. 

A  half  century  ago,  those  who  longed  to  better  their 
worldly  circumstances  felt  the  magnetism  of  the  West 
as  strongly  as  we  do  to-day;  and  in  1846  or  181:7,  Don 
A.  Marvin  and  his  family  removed  to  Lowell,  in  Kent 
County,  Michigan,  where  they  farmed  and  kept  hotel 
for  six  years.  In  1852,  another  western  move  was 
made  to  Rockford,  Illinois ;  then  to  Council  Grove, 
Illinois,  and  a  few  years  later  to  Dubuque,  Iowa,  where 
]\[r.  Marvin,  Sr.,  was  engaged  for  a  time  as  a  railroad 
contractor.  Later  Mr.  Marvin  lived  successively  at 
Coffin's  Grove,  Cedar  Kapids,  La  Grange  and  Des 
Moines,  Iowa,  and  the  latter  city  became  the  perma- 
nent home  of  the  familv.  Mr.  Don  A.  Marvin  died  at 
Des  Moines  in  1869,  and  Mrs.  Marvin  in  1885. 

Before  the  removal  to  Des  Moines,  Charles  Marvin 
determined  to  strike  out  for  himself,  and  in  April, 
1862,  started  for  California  overland.  Taking  a  team 
with  him  he  began  the  journev  with  one  George  Bab- 
cock  as  a  companion  adventurer.  On  the  way  to 
Council  Bluffs  they  fell  m  with  a  man  whose  destina- 
tion was  Pike's  Peak,  Colorado,  and  he  persuaded 
Marvin  to  transport  a  load  of  stores  for  him  to  that 
point.  In  due  time  Pike's  Peak  was  reached,  and 
Marvin  tried  his  fortune  in  the  mines,  but  soon  gave  it 


20  TRAINING    THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 

up  and  returned  to  Denver.  There  he  was  employed 
by  the  government  as  a  teamster,  and  was  sent  with  a 
six  mule  team  to  Fort  Lyon  with  supplies.  At  Fort 
Lyon  Marvin  made  the  acquaintance  of  Captain  L.  D. 
Rouell,  of  Company  F,  of  the  Second  Colorado  Cavalry. 
The  company  were  quartered  during  the  winter  of 
1862-63  at  Fort  Lyon,  and  in  the  spring  was  de- 
spatched to  Council  Grove,  Kansas,  to  hold  the  Santa 
Fe  trail  against  Indians  and  lawless  border  raiders. 

The  company  remained  at  Council  Grove  until  the 
memorable  dash  of  the  Confederate  raider,  Quantrill, 
into  Kansas.  On  the  night  of  August  20,  1863,  Quan- 
trill, with  300  men,  crossed  the  State  line  from  Mis- 
souri, and  in  the  early  morning  of  August  21st,  swooped 
down  upon  Lawrence,  with  tire  and  sword.  "Riot  and 
murder  and  sudden  death  were  in  the  city's  streets." 
The  town  was  literally  wrecked  and  ruined,  and  in 
flight  was  the  only  escape  from  the  sword.  After  the 
sack  of  Lawrence,  Quantrill's  men  recrossed  into  Mis- 
souri, timidly  pursued  by  General  Lane.  Captain 
RouelFs  company  was  ordered  to  Lawrence  after  the 
raid,  and  a  little  later  to  Hickman's  Mill,  IMissouri, 
thirteen  miles  from  Kansas  City.  The  country  was 
practically  depopulated,  and  for  those  who  were  lo\^al 
to  the  Union  there  were  only  two  paths  to  safet}^ — 
either  to  go  within  the  Federal  lines  or  leave  the  coun- 
try, as  it  was  in  sympathy  with  the  "lost  cause." 
Marvin  remained  herewith  the  company  until  the  close 
of  the  war,  the  troops  doing  considerable  fighting  of  a 
bush  whacking  order.  In  the  fall  of  1861,  the  rebel 
General  Price  made  his  formidable  raid,  and  Captain 
Rouell's  company  was  part  of  the  force  under  General 


MUSTERED    OUT.  21 

Curtis  that  was  engaged  against  Price.  There  was 
heavy  fighting  at  The  Blue,  at  Westport,  and  at 
Marisdeseynge.  The  command  was  also  in  the  battle 
of  Newtonia,  where  Charles  Marvin's  horsemanship 
and  a  good  horse  saved  his  life.  A  rebel  cavahwman 
had  fallen,  on  whose  saddle  was  slung  a  white  blanket. 
Eations  were  short  just  then,  and  Marvin  mistaking  it 
for  a  sack  of  flour,  went  after  it.  When  near  the  sup- 
posed prize,  some  of  the  Confederate  horsemen  at- 
tempted to  cut  him  off,  and  he  had  a  decidedly  "  close 
call."  The  horse  struck  good  footing  and  a  clean  piece 
of  prairie,  and  by  the  hardest  kind  of  riding  the  Federal 
horseman  got  back  to  his  lines.  Probably  he  never 
rode  or  drove  a  finish  in  saddle  or  sulky  quite  so  des- 
perate as  on  the  home  stretch  of  his  race  for  life  with 
the  guerrillas,  who  would  have  been  delighted  to  gather 
him  in.  In  the  summer  of  1865  the  company  was 
mustered  out  at  Fort  Piley,  and  the  war  experiences  of 
the  author  of  this  work  ended. 

In  the  army  in  these  parts  in  the  closing  years  of  the 
war  a  o:ood  deal  of  horse-racino;  was  indulo-ed  in,  and 
when  it  was  over,  and  the  company  mustered  out,  Mar- 
vin found  himself  in  possession  of  two  race-horses  and 
two  saddle-horses.  He  went  to  Kansas  City  and  re- 
mained there,  training  and  racing  runners  until  the 
fall  of  1866.  It  is  hardly  proper  to  call  them  race- 
horses, for  they  Avere  merely  quarter-horses,  and  few 
of  them  were  good  half-mile  sprinters,  the  most  of  the 
races  being  at  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  500  yards,  and  600 
yards  straight  away.  The  "cracks  "  of  Marvin's  string 
were  "Whitestockings,  a  good  half-miler,  of  the  Ariel 
blood,  and  Battery  Grey,  a  lively  scrambler  whose 
''pedigree"  traced  to  the  Xinth  Wisconsin  Battery. 


22  TRAINING   THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 

The  following  anecdotes,  which  we  will  have  in 
Marvin's  own  words,  serve  to  give  an  idea  of  the  style 
of  racing  at  Kansas  City,  and  thereabouts,  in  those 
days : 

^'  One  of  my  most  notable  races  was  with  a  bay 
horse  whose  name  I  cannot  now  recall.  It  was,  as 
usual,  a  short  straight-away  dash.  There  was  a  good 
rider  about  at  that  time,  by  the  name  of  Pierce,  who 
weighed  135  pounds.  I  matched  my  horse  for  $100 
a  side  to  carry  Pierce  or  iiis  weight  against  a  pony 
called  Spot  to  carry  catch  weight.  Pierce  had  a  weak- 
ness for  whisky,  and  it  was  always  fully  developed  on 
race  days.  If  he  was  to  ride,  it  was  his  invariable  rule 
to  celebrate  the  event  beforehand  by  '  getting  full.' 
Originally  there  were  some  friends  interested  with  me 
in  the  match,  but  when  the  time  came,  owing  to 
Pierce's  condition,  I  decided  to  ride  the  horse  myself. 
My  friends  demurred,  and  I  had  to  take  all  the  match 
on  my  own  hands.  Having  $600  bet  on  the  outside 
this  ran  up  my  stake  on  the  race  to  $1,000.  The 
match  was  made  with  Hugh  Kirkendoll,  who  had  been 
a  quartermaster  at  Fort  Scott,  but  who  is  now  a  citizen 
and  prominent  horseman  of  Helena,  Montana.  (He 
visited  Palo  Alto  the  winter  of  1889,  but  we  failed  to 
recognize  each  other  until  our  conversation  led  to 
recognition,  and  an  old  acquaintance  was  renewed.) 
After  I  had  mounted  and  was  on  my  way  to  the  post, 
KirkendoU  offered  to  bet  me  $100  more  that  I  would 
lose  the  race.  I  took  the  bet,  and  went  to  the  start. 
I  won  the  race  easily,  and  among  the  losers  were  my 
friends  who  had  withdrawn  when  I  decided  to  ride  my 
horse,  and  had  then  backed  Spot,  feeling  sure  that  my 


HIS    FIRST   TROTTER.  23 

riding  would  lose  the  race.  Shortly  after  this  I 
matched  Whitestockings  against  a  one-eyed  chestnut 
horse  called  Cornstalk,  alias  Bogus  Bill.  The  latter 
bolted,  carrying  my  horse  off  the  track.  I  had  a  sixty- 
five  pound  boy  up,  who  was  unable  to  control  the  horse 
after  he  left  the  track.  This  match  was  at  Leaven- 
worth, Kansas,  for  $2,500,  and  in  all  I  lost  $3,000  on 
the  affair.  I  then  made  up  ni}^  mind  firmly  to  one 
thing,  viz. :  That  I  would  never  again  race  horses 
unless  I  could  steer  them  in  the  race  myself,  and  I 
have  lived  up  to  the  resolution.  I  sold  out  my  racing- 
stable  immediately,  and  returned  to  Kansas  City." 

Shortly  after  this,  in  the  fall  of  1866,  Marvin  was 
engaged  to  manage  a  livery  stable  at  $100  a  month  in 
Kansas  City,  and  it  was  during  this  engagement  that 
he  had  his  first  trotting-race.  He  trained  a  chestnut 
stallion  named  Cassar  to  trot,  and  entered  him  in  a 
sweepstakes  race,  in  which  he  finished  second.  A  lum- 
ber dealer  named  Kendall  had  a  horse  called  Harry  in 
the  same  race,  and  afterward  undertook  to  convince 
Marvin  that  Harry  could  beat  Caesar  single-handed. 
The\^  had  three  successive  match  races,  all  of  which 
Caesar  won.  Then  Mr.  Kendall  gave  up  the  job  of 
convincing  Marvin  that  Harry  could  beat  Csesar. 

Marvin  tired  of  the  livery  business,  and,  in  the 
autumn  of  1867,  took  a  team  and  made  a  contract  to 
haul  rocks  at  so  much  per  square  3^ard  to  the  abutment 
of  the  present  railwa}^  bridge  at  Kansas  City  over  the 
Missouri  Eiver,  which  was  then  being  constructed. 
One  evening,  as  he  was  caring  for  his  horses,  a  sporting 
man  named  John  Forbing  happened  into  the  stable, 
and  inquired  where  he  could  engage  a  man  to  take  a 


24  TKAINIXG   THE   TROTTING    HOESE. 

load  of  merchandise  to  J^ew  Mexico.  Finally  Marvin 
agreed  to  take  $500  for  the  trip,  and  on  January  27, 
1868,  he  started  for  MaxwelFs  Mines,  on  the  Cimarron 
River,  in  Xew  Mexico.  He  engaged  in  mining  at 
Elizabethtown,  near  Maxwell's  Mines,  until  June, 
when  he  intended  startmg  back  to  Kansas  City,  m 
company  with  a  part  of  the  Forbing  part}^  Owing  to 
a  misunderstanding,  however,  the  party  left  before 
Marvin  was  read}^,  and  he  changed  his  intentions. 
Yisions  of  possible  fortune  in  Texas  was  alluring,  and 
he  laid  his  course  for  San  Antonio.  This  Avas  no  Sun- 
day journey  in  those  days.  The  trail  lay  down  the 
Pecos  Eiver  and  across  the  dreaded  Staked  Plain.  A 
writer  describing  this  route  sa3^s  : 

*'  It  left  the  main  trail  somewhere  near  where  the 
western  line  of  Kansas  now  is,  and  turned  southward 
across  a  plain — a  vast  country  in  fact — the  very  name 
of  which  was  a  synonym  of  danger  before  civilization 
came,  and  which  is  still  almost  unexplored.  For  this 
nearer  trail  to  El  Paso  lay  across  El  Llano  Estacado^ 
and  was  in  all  likelihood  the  very  dreariest  road  ever 
traveled.  The  distances  were  immense,  water  was  not 
plenty,  and  Comanches  were." 

Marvin  returned  from  San  Antonio  to  Kansas  in 
the  spring  of  1869  and  located  at  Paoia,  where  he 
formed  a  partnership  with  E.  L.  Mitchell  in  a  livery 
and  training  stable.  Here  he  began  training  trotters 
as  a  profession,  and  it  has  been  his  vocation  ever  since. 

His  twenty  years  of  marvelously  successful  experi- 
ence, the  pith  of  which  this  book  is  designed  to  record 
and  teach,  thus  began  in  earnest. 

There  is  little  more  of  interest  of  the  great  trainer's 


BEGINNIKG   TRAINING.  25 

life  to  tell  here,  for  he  fully  records  his  experiences  as 
a  trainer  in  this  book.  In  1872  Mr.  Marvin  and  his 
partner  located  at  Olathe,  Kansas,  and  leased  the  track. 
Then  began  his  remarkable  career  with  Smuggler,  and 
shortly  afterward  the  partnership  between  Mitchell 
and  Marvin  ended.  When  he  parted  company  for  the 
last  time  with  Smuggler  it  was  in  San  Francisco,  on 
April  5,  1878.  Smuggler  had  broken  down,  and  was 
then  shipped  home,  Marvin  deciding  to  remain  for  a 
time  at  least  in  California,  as  he  already  had  a  stable 
in  training  at  Bay  District  track.  On  April  10,  1878, 
Marvin  went  to  Palo  Alto  and  engaged  to  work  on 
trial,  and  in  due  time  became  Superintendent  of  the 
farm  as  well  as  trainer,  a  position  which  he  has  filled 
with  the  greatest  profit  and  credit  to  Palo  Alto  as  well 
as  with  marked  honor  to  himself. 

Charles  Marvin  was  married  at  Kansas  City,  Decem- 
ber 3,  1873,  to  Miss  Fanny  Martin,  of  Ossowatomie, 
Kansas.  Mrs.  Marvin  is  a  lady  not  only  of  much  refine- 
ment, but  of  warm  heart  and  lovable  disposition,  and 
is  fortunate  in  the  possession  of  the  noble  qualities  of 
womanhood  that  make  the  charm  of  a  model  home. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Marvin  are  happy  in  the  possession  of 
three  children  that  are  general  favorites — Master 
Howard,  aged  nine ;  Miss  Jessie,  seven,  and  Master 
Charles,  Jr.,  aged  four.  Their  home  is  a  pleasant  cot- 
tage at  Palo  Alto,  and  only  those  who  have  enjoyed 
its  unrivaled  hospitality  can  appreciate  how  much  Mr. 
Marvin  is  to  be  envied  in  his  domestic  relations. 

One  of  the  most  admirable  traits  in  the  character  of 
Charles  Marvin,  and  a  quality  that  has  earned  him  the 
respect  of  alL  true  horsemen,  is  his  uncompromising 


26  TRAINING   THE   TROTTING   HORSE. 

honesty.  While  others  have  depended  on  trickery  for 
success  on  the  turf,  Marvin  has  earned  a  greater  repu- 
tation than  any  of  them,  and  has  kept  his  character 
unstained.  The  tinge  of  jobbery  never  attached  to  his 
name.  He  has  left  to  others  the  work  of  swindling 
the  public,  pulling  horses  in  races,  and  driving  for  the 
pool-box.  In  this  book  you  will  find  no  boasting  over 
"smart"  jobs  that  were  carried  through — boasting  that 
seems  to  afford  some  trotting-horse  drivers  infinitely 
more  gratification  than  their  honest  triumphs — as 
trainers.  The  chief  shade  that  rests  on  the  trotting- 
turf  is  the  shameful  fact  tliat  men  who  are  notoriously 
and  forever  indulging  in  fraud  on  the  tracks  do  so  with 
impunity,  and  so  far  has  this  gone  that  some  have 
written  with  boastf ulness  the  story  of  jobs  of  which  an 
honest  man  would  be  ashamed.  This  class  of  men  in 
their  lives  and  their  words  do  the  pitiable  work  of  in- 
culcating in  the  minds  of  young  horsemen  the  idea 
that  an  honest  man  cannot  succeed  on  the  trotting-turf , 
that  the  price  of  success  is  the  sacrifice  of  honor,  ex- 
cept that  honor  that  is  by  tradition  supposed  to  exist 
among  thieves.  But  tliis  class  of  men  are  gradually 
finding  their  level  in  the  public  estimation,  and  the 
trainers  that  are  entrusted  with  valuable  horses,  that 
have  the  confidence  of  rich  and  representative  breeders, 
are  not  those  whose  names  are  always  spoken  lightly, 
but  men  who,  like  Charles  Marvin,  have  a  character  to 
maintain  that  is  worth  more  than  all  the  money  that 
was  ever  won  by  chicanery  and  fraud.  Such  men  de- 
serve well  of  the  horsemen  of  America,  and  all  the 
better  class  of  turfmen  and  breeders  feel  a  personal 
gratification  that  the  highest  pedestal  of  fame  on  the 
trotting-turf  is  reserved  for  men  of  clean  character. 


27 

In  his  every-day  life  Mr.  Marvin  is,  under  all  circum- 
stances, a  gentleman.  His  manner  is  easy  and  rather 
retiring,  and  in  conversation  he  is  at  first  somewhat 
reticent ;  but  when  he  breaks  through  the  ice,  he  talks 
freely  and  instructively,  while  always  modestly.  He 
does  not  feel  the  necessity  of  tiresome  and  hollow 
boasting,  and  is  content  to  be  judged  on  what  he  has 
accomplished.  Mr.  Marvin  is,  as  already  stated,  excep- 
tionally happy  in  his  domestic  life,  and  he  is  essentially 
a  domestic  man,  loving  his  home  and  his  family  above 
all  things  else,  and  enjoying  life  nowhere  as  there. 

Perhaps  no  man  hving  is  better  fitted  to  give  a  just 
estimate  of  Charles  Marvin's  character  than  Col.  Henry 
S.  Russell,  who  owned  Smuggler  in  the  days  of  his 
glory  on  the  turf.  I  cannot  better  close  this  inadequate 
sketch  of  his  career  than  by  quoting  the  following 
letter,  written  some  years  ago  by  Colonel  Eussell  to  the 
Breeders''  Gazette: 

"  In  addition  to  your  very  just  praise  of  Charles 
Marvin  as  a' driver,  I  beg  to  give  my  testimony  of  him 
as  a  man.  Xot  only  the  horse,  but  the  owner  as  well, 
may  have  every  confidence  in  him.  If  the  trotting 
interests  of  this  countr}^  had  been  piloted  by  such  as  he, 
there  Avould  have  been  more  honest  owners  in  the  field 
to-day,  and  the  better  part  of  our  citizens  would  be 
ready  to  encourage,  rather  than  suspect,  the  motives 
which  prompt  capital  to  invest  in  a  pastime  which,  un- 
fortunately, has  been  shamefully  abused." 

L.  E.  M. 


28  TRAINING   THE  TROTTING   HORSE. 


CHAPTEK  I. 

WHY  THE  BOOK  IS  WRITTEN  —  A  PROFESSION  WITHOUT 
TEACHERS  OR  TEXT-BOOKS — OUR  SYSTEM  OF  TRAINING 
ORIGINAL ORDER  OF  THE  WORK EARLY  EXPERI- 
ENCES  W^ITH    HORSES MY    FIRST   TROTTERS — DAN,  THE 

CHESTNUT   SADDLE-HORSE — CLIPPER RUTLAND  GIRL 

GEORGE — SEALSKIN   AND    OLIVE    DUNTON THE    GREAT 

SMUGGLER. 

The  idea  of  writing  a  book  on  training  trotting- 
horses  occurred  to  me  some  years  ago.  It  certainly 
seemed  to  be  a  profession  in  which  much  was  to  be 
tauo-ht,  but  in  which  there  were  neither  text-books  or 
teachers.  The  need  of  a  work  on  the  subject  is  best 
illustrated  by  the  fact  that  "The  Trotting-Horse  of 
America,"  by  Hiram  Woodruff,  is  still  in  demand, 
though  fully  twenty  years  out  of  date.  The  young 
man  who  reads  Woodruff  for  instruction  on  training 
trotters  in  these  days  is  much  in  the  position  of  one 
who  would  follow  Fulton's  model  in  building  a  steam- 
yacht.  The  crude  process,  of  which  Woodruff  was  a 
master  in  his  day,  has  been  improved  and  perfected 
into  a  fine  art.  It  seemed  to  me  that  a  modern  work 
was  called  for,  lucidly  explaining  the  most  recent  prac- 
tices in  training  trotters,  so  that  new  men  in  the  busi- 
ness need  not  grope  blindly  in  the  dark,  and  only  mas- 
ter their  profession  by  here  and  there  stumbling  upon 


PLAN    OF   THE    WOEK.  29 

the  right  way  to  do  certain  things,  after  losing  perhaps 
years  in  doing  them  the  wrong  way.  My  friends  were 
good  enough  to  insist  that  my  more  than  twenty  years 
of  experience  in  training  trotters  had  been  successful 
ones,  and  that  that  success  was  mainly  due  to  the  fact 
that  the  Palo  Alto  system  of  training  was  original  in 
many  of  its  features,  and  differed  therein  radically 
from  conventional  ideas.  They  urged,  moreover,  that 
I  owed  it  not  only  to  myself  but  to  the  trotting-horse 
public  to  write  in  book  form  what  my  experience  was, 
and  what  it  had  taught,  that  others  might  profit  by  it 
The  chief  obstacle  in  the  way  was  lack  of  time  to  do 
the  work  justice — for  I  am  a  very  busy  man — but 
finally,  with  many  misgivings,  the  work  was  detei'- 
mined  upon,  and  within  the  covers  of  this  book  are  the 
results. 

After  the  work  took  definite  shape  in  my  mind,  a 
somewhat  difficult  question  arose  as  to  the  best  order 
of  procedure.  Should  I  first  explain  a  system  of  train- 
ing and  then  tell  what  had  been  accomphshed  b}^  it, 
or  should  I  relate  my  experiences  merely  in  training, 
tell  how  I  did  a  certain  thing,  and  let  the  reader  judge 
whether  it  was  right  or  wrong?  My  primary  object  in 
writing  the  book  was  not  to  ])ose  as  a  storv-teller,  re- 
lating my  own  exploits  merely  for  the  pleasure  of  self- 
horn  blowing,  but  to  endeavor  to  clearly  explain  what 
I  believe  to  be  the  best  system  of  training  horses  to 
trot  fast.  At  the  same  time  it  is  essential  to  have  the 
work  readable  and  interesting  as  well  as  instructive, 
and  to  most  effectually  serve  these  ends  I  have  thought 
best  to  begin  at  the  beginning,  relate  the  story  of 
Si>^uggler  and  other  early  horses,  give  a  history  of 


30  TRAINING    THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 

Palo  Alto,  its  horses,  its  methods  and  its  campaigns^ 
and  then  to  lay  down  the  course  of  training  and  man- 
agement which  these  experiences  have  taught.  "With 
these  prefatory  remarks  we  may  start  at  once  upon 
our  journey. 

Though  all  my  life  had  been  spent  in  working  more 
or  less  with  horses,  I  first  began  training  trotters,  as  a 
business  or  profession,  in  1869o  I  was  then  at  Paola,. 
Kansas,  engaged  in  the  liver}^  stable  business,  and  took 
up  the  training  of  trotters  as  a  supplemental^  occupa- 
tion. Perhaps  I  should  not  say  I  began  training  trot- 
ters, for  in  reality  I  began  training  pacers  to  trot.  In- 
deed my  early  successes  were  all  in  the  line  of  convert- 
ing pacers  to  the  orthodox  gaitc  The  first  horse  of 
any  account  that  came  into  my  hands  was  the  chest- 
nut gelding  Dan.  He  was  a  sort  of  saddle-horse,  and 
a  natural  pacer.  He  was  owned  by  Mr.  S.  Oo  Jerome, 
and  after  I  had  learned  him  to  trot  we  started  him  at 
St.  Joseph,  Missouri,  on  July  4,  1870,  against  Aroos- 
took Boy,  George  Wilkes  Jr.  and  Pilot  Boy.  I  won 
with  Dan  in  straight  heats,  trotting  the  second  heat  in 
2:33.  On  the  6th  he  again  defeated  George  Wilkes 
Jr.,  and  on  the  lith  distanced  Kansas  Maid  for  a  purse 
of  $400.  Dan  was  on  the  turf  for  over  four  years, 
trotting  upwards  of  twenty  races,  and  winning  eleven 
times,  but  he  never  beat  the  record  I  gave  him  in  his 
first  race  at  St.  Joseph.  I  converted  him  from  the 
pace  with  weight  in  the  shoe. 

My  next  horse  of  any  account  was  the  bay  gelding 
Clipper,  who  had  paced  in  2:31.  I  learned  him  to  trot, 
and  after  he  got  going  clever  at  that  gait,  Mr.  Benja- 
min   Akers,    the    then   well-known    Kansas   breeder^ 


SMUGGLER   COMES.  31 

bought  him  for  $5,000.  He  was  at  one  time  a  very 
promising  horse,  but  his  day  passed  and  left  him  un- 
known to  fame. 

About  this  time  I  had  in  my  stable  another  pacer, 
the  brown  mare  Eutland  Girl.  She  was  of  the  Hal- 
corn  blood,  and  though  I  converted  her  to  trot,  and 
trotted  her  a  good  deal,  she  never  had  speed  enough  to 
be  of  much  account.  I  won  two  good  races  with  her^ 
one  at  Topeka,  Kansas,  September  26,  ISTS,  and  the 
other  at  Kansas  City,  June  2,  1875,  for  a  $500  purse, 
but  her  fastest  mile  was  2:43 — slow  for  a  baby  trotter 
in  these  days.  When,  shortly  afterward,  I  went  east 
with  Smuggler,  I  took  Kutland  Girl  along  and  sold  her 
in  Boston  to  a  gentleman  from  'New  Jersey. 

Another,  and  about  the  most  promising  horse  I  had 
up  to  this  time,  was  the  gelding  George.  He  was  by 
Field's  Royal  George,  the  sire  of  Byron,  2:25^,  and 
his  dam  was  represented  to  have  been  a  daughter  of 
Sir  Tatton  Sykes.  George  was,  unlike  any  other  early 
horses,  a  natural  trotter,  and  he  certainly  had  the 
capacity  to  trot  close  to  2:20.  I  considered  him  about 
as  promising  a  horse  as  Smuggler,  but  he  died  of  lung 
fever  before  he  had  a  chance  to  show  what  there  was 
in  him. 

At  Hannibal,  Missouri,  in  September,  1872,  a  black 
horse  of  unknown  blood  called  Sealskin  made  a  pacing 
record  of  2:26^,  and  later  he  came  into  my  hands. 
I  made  a  complete  success  of  converting  him,  and  al- 
though he  has  no  trotting-record,  I  taught  him  to  trot 
as  fast  as  he  could  pace.  This  horse  and  a  mare  called 
Olive  Dunton  about  completes  the  list  of  horses  of  my 
early  training  days,  until  one  came  into  my  hands  that 


32  TRAINING    THE    TRAINING    HORSE. 

was  destined  to  be  the  foremost  figure  of  his  age  on  the 
turf,  to  overthrow  its  imperial  queen,  the  mighty 
Goldsmith  Maid,  and  to  reign  its  acknowledged  king. 
This  was  the  great  Smuggler,  who  came  to  me  a  3:00 
pacer,  and  left  me  with  a  trotting  record  of  2:15J — 
the  fastest  stallion  record  of  that  day. 

It  was  the  fortune  of  Smuggler  and  myself  to  earn 
our  reputation  together,  to  emerge  from  turf  obscurity 
to  turf  fame,  and  like  all  that  figures  in  the  front  bat- 
tle line,  we  had  our  triumphs  and  defeats,  enjoying  ap- 
plause and  bearing  condemnation  together,  just  as  the 
tide  of  fortune  and  the  fickler  tide  of  public  favor 
chanced  to  ebb  and  fl.ow. 


THE   GREAT   SMUGGLER.  33 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE    GREAT    SMUGGLER HIS   ORIGIN   AND    BLOOD — HOW    HE 

WAS     NAMED — GIVEN    MARVIN   TO  TRAIN — HOW    SMUG- 
GLER WAS  CONVERTED    TO    TROT WEIGHT-CARRYING 

SUCCESS     AT     LAST,     AND     RAPID     IMPROVEMENT FAST 

TRIALS  AND  SALE  OF  SMUGGLER  TO  COLONEL  RUSSELL 

THE    GREAT   RACE   AT   BUFFALO,  WON   BY   THOMAS   JEF- 
FERSON   ADVERSE      CRITICISM     OF     "  THE      WESTERN 


In  the  summer  of  1872,  when  I  was  engaged  in 
training  horses,  as  stated  in  the  last  chapter,  at  Olathe, 
Kansas,  Mr.  John  Mason  Morgan  came  to  me  with  a 
bay  pacer  to  train.  The  story  he  told  me  of  the 
pacer's  origin  was  this,  in  substance  :  He  had  formerly 
lived,  he  stated,  at  or  near  Columbus,  Ohio,  and 
had  bought  a  pacing-mare  that  was  brought  by  a 
cattle  drover  from  West  Virginia.  This  mare  had 
been  bought  from  a  cavalryman  at  Clarksburg,  West 
Virginia,  in  or  about  1863,  by  a  Mr.  Irwin,  and  from 
him  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  party  from  whom 
Morgan  got  her.  Two  or  three  years  later  Morgan 
purchased,  through  the  same  Mr.  Irwin  who  had 
owned  the  pacing-mare,  the  bay  stallion  Blanco. 
Blanco  was  foaled  in  1857,  and  was  bred  by  Mr.  Josiah 
Morgan,  of  Ohio  County,  West  Virginia.  He  was  sired 
by  Iron's  Cadmus,  by  Beach's  Cadmus,  thoroughbred 


34  TRAINING    THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 

son  of  the  great  race-horse,  American  Eclipse,  and  the- 
clam  of  Blanco  was  by  Irwin's  Tuckahoe,  tracing  be- 
yond this  to  the  blood  of  Bond's  First  Consul.  Mr. 
Morgan  mated  the  Yirginia-bred  mare  with  the  Yir- 
ginia-bred  horse,  and,  forgetting  the  foaling-time,  one- 
morning  in  1866  he  unexpectedly  found  the  youngster 
in  a  paddock  with  his  dam,  and  other  mares.  The 
colt  was  endeavoring  to  secure  maternal  attention  from 
another  mare  when  discovered  by  Mr.  Morgan  which 
prompted  that  gentleman  to  exclaim,  "  Ah,  you  little 
smuggler  I  "  And  thus,  according  to  the  story  told  by 
Mr.  Morgan  when  the  horse  was  still  obscure,  he  got 
the  name  of  Smuggler  on  his  natal  morn,  and  it  stuck 
to  him. 

In  1868,  Mr.  Morgan  sold  Blanco  to  a  man  named 
Tipton,  and  gave  him  two  of  his  colts,  one  being 
Smuggler.  Tipton  moved  to  Kansas,  and  about  a  year 
later  Morgan  also  settled  in  the  "  windy  state."  Tip- 
ton failed  to  pay  Morgan  for  the  horses,  and  he  took 
back  the  whole  outfit.  He  rode  Smuggler  under  sad- 
dle, worked  him  on  the  farm,  etc.,  and,  as  he  showed 
some  speed  as  a  pacer,  he  started  him  in  a  pacing-race, 
and  he  was  driven  by  one  Lamasney,  one  of  the 
Lamasney  Brothers,  the  Western  turfmen,  who  own 
Banner  Bearer,  and  other  well-known  horses  running 
on  Eastern  tracks.  In  that  race  Smuggler  was  dis- 
tanced in  2:52,  and  subsequently  Morgan  canic  to  place 
him  in  my  hands  as  told  at  the  opening  of  this 
chapter. 

Mr.  Morgan  washed  me  to  train  him  as  a  pacer  and 
take  a  half  interest  in  him,  which  I  promptly  and  em- 
phatically refused,  telling  him  that  pacers  were  of  no 


SMUGGLER   THE    PACER.  35 

account,  and  he  would  have  to  allow  me  to  train  him 
to  trot  or  I  would  not  train  him  at  all.  This  he  re- 
fused, and  came  to  see  me  almost  every  other  day  for 
two  months,  endeavoring  to  prevail  upon  me  to  meet 
his  proposition.  Morgan  was  a  very  erratic  man,  and 
had  a  peculiar  old  grey  soldier-coat  which  he  wore 
winter  and  summer.  He,  in  copious  and  highly  sea- 
soned lanD:uao:e,  would  ridicule  the  idea  of  trvinor  to 
make  Smuggler  trot.  "Why,"  he  exclaimed,  "if  you 
knocked  him  down  with  a  club  he'd  get  up  pacing."  It 
amuses  me  now  to  recall  how,  after  Smuggler  became 
famous  as  a  trotter,  Morgan  would  loudly  tell  how  he 
bred  him  for  a  trotter,  and  how  he  knew  from  the  first 
that  he  would  be  a  great  trotter.  And  I  am  bound 
to  add  that  once  after  Smuggler  was  defeated  Mr. 
Morgan  wrote  Colonel  Eussell  that  if  he  would  "  buy 
Marvin  a  pair  of  rubber  reins  he  would  always  have  a 
winner."  I  trust  I  have  outlived  the  astute  Mr.  Mor- 
gan's suspicion. 

Finally,  finding  it  futile  to  urge  me  to  train  Smug- 
gler as  a  pacer,  Morgan  compromised  by  giving  him  to 
me  to  train  to  trot,  on  condition  that  if  I  failed  I  was 
to  make  him  pace  as  fast  as  he  could  when  he  came 
into  my  hands,  which  was  not  a  very  heavy  contract  to 
assume.  Thus  it  was  that  Smuggler,  obscure  and  un- 
known, came  into  my  hands  on  August  15,  1872,  the 
day  he  was  six  years  old.  I  found  him  a  good-looking 
bay  horse,  15.3  in  front  and  16  hands  high  behind,  with 
a  white  rear  heel  and  a  star  and  snip.  He  was  a  well- 
made  horse  all  over,  with  excellent  legs  and  grand  feet. 
His  head  was  well-shaped,  and  his  broad  forehead  and 
rich  hazel  eyes  gave  him  an  expression  of  great  intelli- 
gence. 


36  TRAINING  THE  TROTTING  HORSE. 

I  tried  every  knowa  method  of  conversion  Avith 
Smuggler,  and  at  times  I  despaired  of  ever  teaching 
him  to  trot.  He  Avas  a  pacer  through  and  through. 
First  I  shod  him  with  an  ordinary  shoe,  but  had  to  in- 
crease this  again  and  again  until  he  finally  wore  two 
pounds  on  each  front  foot,  his  hind  shoes  being  ordi- 
nary five-ounce  ones.  It  has  been  contended,  I  be- 
lieve, that  Smuggler  was  injured  by  carrying  excessive 
weight,  and  that  is  possibly  true.  He  had  the  best  of 
feet,  joints,  cannons  and  tendons,  and  had  it  been 
otherwise  he  might  not  have  stood  what  seemed  neces- 
sary to  be  done.  If  the  reader  Avill  follow  me,  after  I 
have  done  with  my  story-telling,  into  the  discussions  on 
shoeing  and  weighting,  he  will  discover  that  I  am,  on 
principle,  opposed  to  heavy  shoes  and  "  dead  against " 
weights.  But  all  cases  cannot  be  treated  alike ;  excep- 
tional cases  require  exceptional  treatment,  and  the  case 
of  Smuggler  certainly  was  an  exceptional  one.  It 
should  be  remembered  that  he  was  not  the  only  horse 
that  carried  such  weight.  Xettie,  2:18,  carried  ten 
ounces  more  than  Smuggler  ever  did,  and  so  did  the 
little  mares  Lula,  2:15,  and  May  Queen,  2:20.  IS'one 
of  these  could  compare  with  Smuggler  in  muscular  de- 
velopment, and  another  thing  greatly  in  his  favor  was 
that  he  was  a  mature  horse  before  the  task  was  asked 
of  him.  In  many  cases  the  end  justifies  the  means, 
and  those  who  criticise  the  methods  pursued  with 
Smuggler  have  in  2:15^  a  stubborn  obstacle  to  brush 
away. 

As  I  have  said,  I  tried  every  known  method  of 
conversion  with  this  horse.  I  tried  the  cross-strap 
by  which  it  is  made  impossible   for  a  horse  to  pace; 


CONVERTING    SMUGGLER.  37 

I  tried  the  plan  of  placing  rails  on  the  ground  at  such 
intervals  as  would  compel  the  horse  to  put  his  feet 
down  in  the  diagonal  order ;  tried  weighting  in  every 
way,  and  all  availed  nothing.  Finally,  by  a  sort 
of  inspiration,  I  struck  on  a  plan  which  perhaps 
found  its  first  growth  in  the  knowledge  that  a  horse 
cannot  turn  short  at  the  pace.  I  would  start  him 
up  slowly  and  rather  suddenly  throw  him  off  to  one 
side  at  a  pretty  sharp  angle,  compelling  him  to  change 
his  gait,  and  the  new  gait  he  would  keep  for  a 
few  steps.  As  soon  as  he  came  back  to  the  pace  I 
would  swing  him  off  sideways  again.  Of  course  this 
was  virtually  driving  around  in  a  small  circle,  until  he 
began  to  go  a  considerable  distance  trotting.  At  each 
time  he  would  remain  at  the  trot  a  little  longer,  and 
after  the  long,  tedious  and  discouraging  experimenting 
the  reader  may  well  understand  how  glad  and  encour- 
aged I  was  when  one  day,  after  going  around  in  a 
circle  for  eleven  times,  Smuggler  struck  a  trot  and 
kept  it  up  for  a  quarter  of  a  mile.  Before  this  I  had 
unsuccessfully  worked  with  him  for  twenty-eight  days. 
The  third  day  after  this  evidence  of  a  change  of  heart 
he  went  a  full  mile,  trotting,  in  4:20,  and  two  days 
later  did  a  little  better,  trotting  the  mile  in  4:00.  The 
seventh  day  after  showing  his  first  inchnation  to  trot 
he  showed  a  mile  in  2:59,  and  the  rapidity  of  his  im- 
provement is  shown  by  the  fact  that  on  the  thirteenth 
day  he  trotted  the  mile  in  2:41-1 ;  the  twenty -first  day 
he  worked  three  heats  in  2:48^,  2:38^  and  2:32,  and 
the  twenty-eighth  day  miles  in  2:32^  2:30^.  This 
ended  the  work  for  that  season,  and  during  the  winter 
Smuggler  suffered  from  an   attack  of  epizootic.     He 


38  TRAINING    THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 

was  jogged  easily  during  March,  1873,  and  in  April  we 
began  working  him  again.  On  May  1st  he  was  good 
enough  to  trot  a  mile  in  2:27,  and  do  it  in  a  Avay  that 
was  full  of  promise  of  improvement.  The  second  week 
in  May  he  trotted  a  mile  in  2:25,  and  three  days  after- 
ward in  2:23.  Then  Mr.  Benjamin  Akers  offered 
$10,000  for  him,  but  we  declined  the  offer.  He  kept 
right  on  gathering  speed  and  improving  in  form  every 
day,  and  a  week  after  Akers  offered  $10,000  for  him 
he  went  a  mile  in  2:22 ;  the  next  week  he  trotted  three 
miles  in  2:26,  2:21^,  2:20,  and  the  following  week  I 
worked  him  two  miles  in  2:19|  and  2:20^.  He  was 
then  sold  to  Capt.  "W.  S.  Tough,  of  Leavenworth,  Kan- 
sas, and  shipped  to  N^ew  York,  in  my  charge.  The 
object  of  this  visit  was  the  projected  sale  of  the  horse 
to  Mr.  Robert  Bonner,  and,  as  I  understood  it,  Mr. 
Bonner  was  to  buy  the  horse  for  a  certain  sum  if  he 
could  show  three  fast  heats,  one  of  which  should  be 
better  than  2:20.  The  journe}^  from  Kansas  to  E"ew 
York  was  not  an  easy  one,  but  after  being  on  his  feet 
five  daj^s  in  the  car,  I  drove  Smuggler  over  Prospect 
Park  for  Mr.  Bonner  three  heats  in  2:19|^,  2:21|^, 
2:21.  He  was  timed  by  Mr.  Bonner,  Sim  Hoagland, 
and  George  C.  Hopkins.  The  last  half  of  the  last  mile 
was  made  in  1:09.  The  next  day  Mr.  Bonner  sent  a 
veterinary  surgeon  to  examine  the  horse.  This  scien- 
tist reported  to  Mr.  Bonner  that  he  found  the  horse  to 
have  "  a  jack  "  which  as  a  matter  of  fact  never  existed. 
When  Mr.  Bonner  saw  Captain  Tough  what  he  said  to 
him  was  in  substance:  "This  horse  is  in  great  form, 
up  to  concert  pitch,  but  I  would  rather  pay  a  little 
more  money  to  see  a  little  more  speed.     If  the  horse 


SALE    OF    SMTGGLER.  39 

could  show  a  mile  in  2:16|,  I  would  give  $75,000  for 
him." 

The  sale  to  Mr.  Bonner  having  fallen  through,  we 
were  in  doubt  whether  to  go  to  Boston  and  start 
against  Goldsmith  Maid's  time,  2:16|,  or  to  return 
home.  Meanwhile  we  quartered  the  horse  in  a  stable 
on  Great  Jones  Street,  Xew  York  City,  and  there,  Sep- 
tember 1,  IS 73,  Colonel  Henry  S.  Kussell,  of  Milton, 
Massachusetts,  appeared  on  the  scene.  I  was  after- 
ward informed  that  Colonel  Kussell  was  en  route  to 
Mr.  Backman's  Stony  Ford  Stud,  in  Orange  County, 
when  in  the  Tv/rf^  Field  and  Farm  office  conversation 
turned  upon  Smuggler,  and  the  Colonel  decided  to  see 
him.  The  trial  at  Prospect  was  on  Thursday,  August 
28th,  and  if  my  memory  serves  me  aright  it  was  on 
Monday  that  the  colonel  came  and  opened  negotiations 
for  his  purchase.  They  were  speedily  consummated. 
Colonel  Eussell  buying  the  horse  at  the  price  asked, 
$30,000,  and  on  Wednesday  evening  he  was  shipped  to 
his  new  home  near  Boston.  On  September  5th  we 
showed  Smuggler  at  the  Xew  England  Fair,  at  Mystic 
Park,  Boston,  and,  though  hog-fat,  he  trotted  a  half- 
mile  in  1:06,  the  first  quarter  in  thirty-four  and  the  last 
in  thirty-two  seconds. 

As  it  was  not  Colonel  Kussell's  intention  to  trot  the 
horse  that  season  he  went  into  temporary  retirement, 
and  I  returned  to  my  Kansas  home. 

Smuggler  was  jogged  all  winter  on  the  road,  and  in 
the  spring  was  worked  for  speed  by  a  Mr.  Moulton. 
Colonel  Russell  entered  him  in  the  stallion  race  to  be 
trotted  at  Buffalo,  August  5, 1874,  but  the  horse's  work 
was  not  satisfactory  and  the  Colonel  telegraphed  for 


40  TRAINING    THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 

me  at  the  eleventh  hour.  I  immediately  came  East 
and  got  the  horse  just  eight  days  before  the  race,  and 
it  was  said  that  up  to  that  time  he  had  not  gone  a  mile 
better  than  2:40.  He  began  to  shape  up  fairly  well 
before  the  race,  but  was,  of  course,  short  of  work  and 
was  not  keyed  up,  but  even  at  that  he  would,  I  believe, 
have  won  had  he  been  fairly  treated  by  the  starter. 
Besides,  the  horse  was  raw  and  uneducated,  knew  noth- 
ing about  scoring,  and  was  all  at  sea  in  company.  It 
w^as  impossible  to  get  him  up  with  the  other  horses, 
and  consequently  at  every  start  he  got  much  the 
worst  of  it. 

The  field  that  started  Avas  composed  of  Thomas  Jef- 
ferson, "  the  Black  Whirlwind  of  the  East ;"  Mambrino 
Gift,  the  first  stallion  to  trot  in  2:20 ;  Joe  Brown,  Pilot 
Temple  and  Smuggler.  Smuggler  had  the  pole,  but 
getting  away  in  the  first  heat  far  back  soon  lost  it  to 
Joe  Brown,  who  led  at  the  quarter.  Smuggler  four 
lengths  behind  the  field.  We  were  fully  eight  lengths 
away  from  the  leader  at  the  half,  but  the  Kansas  com- 
bination began  j^o  get  on  steam  in  the  stretch,  and  they 
told  me  afterward  that  the  people  shouted,  "See 
Smuggler  come  !"  In  the  stretch  Smuggler  carried 
Mambrino  Gift  to  a  break,  and  easily  shook  him  off, 
and  the  chestnut  son  of  Mambrino  Pilot  was  also 
passed  by  Thomas  Jefferson  who  came  fast  at  the 
finish,  but  w^as  beaten  a  length  by  Smuggler  in  2:22^. 

'Now  Smuggler  w^as  made  a  favorite  over  the  field, 
and  in  the  second  heat  I  asked  the  judges  to  let  us  go 
if  my  horse  was  going  level,  even  though  somewhat 
back.  At  the  fifth  score  we  went  awa}^.  Smuggler 
eight  or  ten  lengths  back,  with  Pilot  Temple  in  the 


KACE    AT    BUFFALO.  41 

lead,  and  Mambrino  Gift  on  his  wheel.  Mambrino  Gift 
led  at  the  half  in  1:10.  Smuggler  cut  down  the  field 
one  b}^  one  going  around  the  turn,  and  collared  Mam- 
brino Gift  at  the  head  of  the  stretch.  The  pressure 
was  too  much  for  Mambrino  Gift  and  half-way  up  the 
stretch  he  went  all  to  pieces,  Smuggler  winning  by  a 
length  in  2:20J.  When  the  time  was  hung  out  there 
was  much  excitement,  enthusiasm  and  cheering,  for 
the  stallion  record  had  been  broken,  and,  moreover, 
Smuggler  had  made  the  fastest  record  ever  achieved 
by  a  horse  in  his  maiden  race.  He  trotted  the  last 
half  of  that  mile  in  1:08^,  and  went  around  the  field 
at  that. 

Smuggler  was  now  a  pronounced  favorite  over  the 
field,  but  it  was  not  destined  to  be  his  day  of  triumph. 
His  preparation  had  not  been  sufficient  for  a  bruising 
race,  and  though  it  is  possible  he  had  enough  left  to 
win,  the  starter,  Mr.  C.  J.  Hamlin,  of  Buffalo,  slaugh- 
tered him  in  the  third  heat.  When  the  word  was 
given  Smuggler  was  far  nearer  the  distance  judge  than 
the  wire — indeed,  I  do  not  know  but  that  the  dis- 
tance judge  could  have  touched  us  with  his  flag.  Xo 
worse  start  was  ever  given  in  au  important  race,  and  I 
saw  at  once  that  our  chances  of  o-ettino^  inside  the  dis- 
tance  flag  were  narrow.  Around  the  turn  Mambrino 
Gift  led  the  field,  Smuo^o-ler  nearlv  a  furlono^  behind. 
Mambrino  Gift  went  on  and  won  the  heat  in  2:22^,  and 
Smuggler  beat  the  flag  home.  The  Sjnrit  said  of  it : 
"It  was  a  hopeless  task  for  Smuggler  from  the  begin- 
ning. The  send-off  icas  toohaU  for  anytldng  icithout 
icings  to  mcike  up  against  such  a  field,  but  right  gal- 
lantly he  struggled,  and  as  the  leader  reached  the  wire 


42  TRAINING   THE   TROTTING    HORSE. 

he  was  well  up  with  the  party,  having  made  up  about 
half  of  the  disadvantage  under  which  he  started."  In 
view  of  this  who  can  doubt  that,  had  the  starter  pro- 
tected the  pole-horse,  as  it  was  his  duty  to  do,  Smug- 
gler would  have  won  the  race? 

Smuggler  was  now  dead  tired.  Want  of  condition, 
endless  scoring,  and  three  hard  heats  had  settled  the 
half-trained  horse,  and  in  the  fifth  heat,  after  twelve 
scorings,  he  was  sent  away  again  far  back,  "and  the 
subsequent  proceedings  interested  him  no  more."'  The 
heat  was  won  by  Thomas  Jefferson  in  2:23^,  and 
Smuggler  was  distanced  in  company  with  Pilot  Temple. 
Thomas  Jefferson  won  the  next  two  heats  and  the 
race  in  2:26^,  2:2S|^,  and  Mambrino  Gift  got  second 
money. 

I  was  bitterly  and.  unfairh^  criticised  for  the  failure 
of  Smuggler  to  win  that  day.  Men  who  bet  their 
money  and  lose  are  not  the  best  judges  of  the  driver's 
motives  or  skill,  and  of  course  talk  from  that  class  is 
not  heeded.  But  all  the  reporters  from  Xew  York  to 
Conewango  knew  they  could  have  driven  Smuggler 
better  than  Marvin  did,  and  with  Doble,  or  Green,  or 
Dan  Mace  in  the  sulky,  everybody  was  sure  that 
Smuggler  could  not  have  lost,  and  everj^bod}^  conceived 
it  to  be  his  special  duty  to  advise  Colonel  Russell  what 
to  do  in  the  matter.  The  amount  of  good  advice  the 
Colonel  received  during  the  campaign  of  Smuggler 
represented  an  aggregation  of  wisdom  that  it  is  sad  to 
think  was  thrown  away.  The  Colonel  Avas  laughed  at, 
jeered  at,  and  advised  atbout  the  awful  consequences  of 
keeping  a  great  horse  in  the  hands  of  "  the  Western 
hoosier;"  and  I  certainly  would  have  been  glad  at  sev- 


ADVERSE    CEITISM.  43 

eral  times  to  have  o^iven  him  up  to  some  of  the  many 
men  of  great  reputation  who  were  only  waiting  for  a 
chance  to  electrify  the  world  with  Russell's  misman- 
aged horse.  The  people  who  criticized  the  Buifalo 
race  made  no  allowance  for  the  fact  that  I  had  a  green, 
raw  horse,  untrained  and  uneducated,  short  of  work 
and  but  half  prepared,  one  whose  gait  was  artificial, 
one  that  had  never  been  in  a  race  before,  and  knew 
nothing  about  trotting  in  company. 

Well,  that  is  all  a  matter  of  years  ago ;  ana  if  the 
critics  are  satisfied  with  what  they  thought  they  knew, 
I  am  satisfied  with  what  I  did ;  and  what  is  more 
gratifying  to  me  than  all  is  the  fact  that  Colonel  Eus- 
sell  after  all  was  over  was,  and  is,  glad  that  he  refused 
much  kind  advice,  and  stuck  to  the ''  Western  hoosier." 


44  TRAINING   THE   TROTTING   HORSE. 


CHAPTEE  III. 

SMUGGLER    "  UNDER    THE    WEATHER " — A    FAMOUS    SPRING- 
FIELD   BLACKSMITH    GETS  AT   HIM HE  WINS    HIS    FIRST 

RACE,    DEFEATING    WELLESLEY    BOY GEORGE    WILKES' 

COMPLIMENT HE  WINS  THE  GREAT    STALLION    RACE  AT 

BOSTON RECORD     2:20 1875    AN     OFF    YEAR JUDGE 

FULLERTON      DEFEATED     AND     THE     STALLION     RECORD 
LOWERED    TO    2:17. 

From  Buffalo  we  came  to  lltica,  starting  Smuggler 
in  the  $5,000  race  for  the  2:29  class,  for  which  a  field 
of  nine  faced  the  starter.  Charley  Green  had  Fleety 
Golddust  in  pretty  good  shape  that  day,  and  had  little 
trouble  in  winning,  after  Music  had  captured  one  heat, 
in  2:21^.  Smuggler  was  quite  "off"  from  the  effect  of 
his  hard  race  at  Buffalo.  He  acted  unsteadily,  but  we 
gave  Fleety  a  pretty  good  argument  in  the  third  heat, 
which  she  won  by  half  a  length,  after  a  fighting  finish, 
in  2:23.  Seeing  that  there  was  no  chance  of  winning, 
and  that  the  horse  was  not  himself,  he  was,  by  permis- 
sion of  the  ji^dges,  drawn  after  this  heat. 

Smuggler  was  then  taken  to  Springfield,  where  we 
intended  starting  him  August  18th.  Here  I  had  an 
instructive  little  episode  with  a  "horseshoe-maker." 
Colonel  Kussell  decided  to  try  this  gentleman's  shoe- 
ing, and  he  went  to  work.  I  did  not  have  much  idea 
of  what  he  was  going  to  do,  but  I  afterward  learned 


smuggler's  first  victory.  45 

that  he  was  going  to  make  Smuggler  trot  faster.  I 
had  been  trying  to  reduce  weight,  but  the  blacksmith 
decided  that  in  the  other  direction  lay  success,  so  he 
put  a  twenty-five-ounce  shoe  on  each  fore  foot  and  a 
fourteen-ounce  shoe  on  each  hind  foot,  thus  doubling 
the  weight  of  the  hind  shoes.  On  top  of  this  he  pre- 
scribed six -ounce  toe -weights.  Then,  according  to 
this  eminent  "harmonious  blacksmith,"  Smuggler  was 
rigged  to  smash  records.  He  explained  that  the  extra 
weight  behind  would  improve  his  hock  action,  of  which 
he  had  little.  Well,  we  tried  him  in  this  rig,  and  his 
speed  would  not  have  seemed  indecorous  at  a  funeral. 
We  were  then  on  the  eve  of  a  race,  and  with  the  horse 
anchored  in  every  leg,  the  prospects  were  not  cheery. 
But  I  "returned  to  first  principles,"  threw  away  the 
Springfield  patent,  and  put  back  the  old  shoes.  Soon 
^'Eichard  was  himself  again,"  and  on  the  18th  he  won 
his  first  race,  in  the  second,  fifth  and  sixth  heats,  beat- 
ing the  favorite,  Welleslej^  Boy,  and  a  large  field, 
among  which  were  Commodore  Perr}^,  H.  C.  Hill,  and 
others  of  note  in  their  day.  Speaking  of  this  race,  Mr. 
George  Wilkes  said,  in  the  Sjnrit :  "  The  speed  and 
gameness  of  this  horse  are  something  wonderful ;  in 
each  of  his  heats  he  seemed  totally  incapable  of  doing 
any  fast  work  until  he  had  accomplished  half  the  dis- 
tance; then  would  come  his  time,  as,  with  a  gait  the 
very  perfection  of  motion,  so  easily  and  apparently 
without  effort  did  he  move  along,  he  would  cut  down 
his  field  and  win  his  heats." 

Smuggler  next  started  at  Mystic  Park,  Boston,  on 
September  2d,  where  he  was  defeated  by  Lucille  Gold- 
dust,  though  he  won  the  fastest  heat  of  the  race — the 


46  TRAINING   THE   TROTTING    HORSE. 

third — in  2:22.  The  heat  before  this  Smuo^o-ler  had 
broken  badl}^,  and  in  the  first  quarter  of  this  heat  Dan 
Mace  said  to  Colonel  Eussell:  "It^s  §100  to  one  cent 
that  he  will  be  shut  out.''  But  he  came  home  from  the 
half  in  the  vicinity  of  1:06,  winning  the  heat  handily. 
At  Beacon  Parlv,  on  September  10th,  in  the  2:34  class, 
Smuggler  won,  beating  a  field  of  eight  with  compara- 
tive ease,  the  fastest  heat  being  2:26. 

Then  came  the  sensational  trotting  event  of  the  year, 
Mr.  David  H.  Blanchard's  "  Great  Stallion  Eace  for 
the  Championship  of  the  United  States,  and  a  purse  of 
$10,000."  AYhen  the  race  was  first  announced,  early  in 
the  summer,  some  people  sought  to  throw  cold  water  on 
the  whole  thing  with  the  easy  cjmicism  that  it  was  "  a 
race  made  for  Smuggler."  But  the  races  at  Buffalo 
and  further  down  the  circuit  line  left  very  few  to  be- 
lieve that  Smuggler  could  defeat  Mambrino  Gift  and 
Thomas  Jefferson,  and  when  the  day  came  it  looked  to 
the  public  anything  but  "  a  race  made  for  Smuggler." 
I  do  not  think  I  ever  saw  a  larger  crowd  on  a  race- 
course than  flocked  to  Mystic  Park  on  September  15, 
1874,  to  see  the  battle  of  the  champions.  Of  the  origi- 
nal fifteen  entries,  six  came  to  the  wire,  viz.:  Mambrino 
Gift,  that  trotted  a  few  weeks  before  in  2:20,  thus 
making  the  fastest  stallion  record  to  that  time ;  Phil 
Sheridan,  of  whom  much  was  expected,  and  his  son 
Commonwealth,  that  afterward  made  a  record  of  2:22 ; 
Smuggler,  with  his  record  of  2:20f ,  and  his  reputation 
for  unreliability ;  Henry  W.  Genet,  2:26,  then  the  fast- 
est son  of  the  sire  of  the  great  Hopeful,  and  Vermont 
Abdallah,  who  was  as  much  out  of  place  in  the  com- 
pany as  a  fire  cracker  among  cannon. 


THE    GREAT   STALLIOX  RACE    OF    1874.  47 

Just  before  the  race,  Thomas  Jefferson,  the  conqueror 
at  Buffalo,  was  drawn,  as  he  went  very  lame  in  his 
warming-up  jog.  The  betting  was  heavy,  and  a  sam- 
ple pool  will  show  how  strong  a  favorite  Mambrino 
Gift  was.  This  pool  was  sold  in  the  city  at  the  rooms 
of  Morse  &  Morris  the  night  before  the  race,  and  is 
said  to  be  the  largest  ever  made  on  a  trotting  race : 
Mambrino  Gift,  81,000 ;  Smuggler,  8335  ;  Thomas  Jef- 
ferson, 8330;  Phil  Sheridan,  8175;  Commonwealth, 
$150 ;  Yermont  Abdallah,  8110 ;  Henry  W.  Genet, 
845. 

Mambrino  Gift  had  the  pole,  and  getting  away  well 
led  to  the  quarter,  with  Sheridan  second,  but  in  the 
back-stretch  I  did  not  have  much  trouble  in  giving 
both  the  leaders  the  go-by,  and  got  to  the  half  in  1:11^ 
with  a  nice  lead.  Smuggler  won  the  heat  well  in  hand, 
and  "  Jock "  Bowen,  after  a  hot  tussle,  got  Sheridan 
home  ahead  of  Mambrino  Gift  for  second  place. 

Phil  Sheridan  got  the  best  of  the  start  in  the  second 
heat  and  he  led  to  the  half  in  1:11,  where  I  cut  Smug- 
gler loose,  and  went  on  and  won  the  heat  in  a  common 
jog  by  about  eight  lengths  from  Sheridan,  with  the 
favorite,  Mambrino  Gift,  very  badly  beaten.  The  time 
was  2:23,  the  same  as  in  the  previous  heat. 

The  next  heat  we  went  away  pretty  evenly,  but 
Smuggler  at  his  best  was  slow  to  get  into  his  stride, 
and  Bowen  rushed  Phil  Sheridan  to  the  front,  taking 
the  pole.  Mambrino  Gift,  also  got  away  fast,  but  his 
effort  was  "a  flash  in  the  pan,"  as  he  soon  went  into  a 
tangled  break,  and  fell  back.  On  the  back-stretch 
Smuo-D^ler  o;ot  into  his  bier  swino^ino^  stride,  and  went  by 
the  tired  Phil  Sheridan,  m  spite  of  all  Bowen's  efforts. 


48  TRAINING  THE  TROTTING  HORSE. 

with  ease.  The  time  to  the  half  was  about  the  same 
as  in  the  previous  heats,  1:11  and  a  fraction,  but  I  sent 
him  along  in  the  last  quarter  fast,  and  won  "  away  off" 
in  2:20,  thus  equaling  the  fastest  stallion  record. 

The  applause  of  the  Boston  ians  after  the  first  heat 
was  warm;  after  the  second  heat  it  was  wild  and 
hilarious;  but  after  the  race  was  won  and  the  last 
heat  trotted  in  2:20  the  enthusiasm  of  the  crowd  knew 
no  bounds.  They  hurrahed  for  Colonel  Kussell,  foi 
Smuggler,  for  Mr.  Blanchard,  for  Smuggler's  driver 
and  everything  else  in  general.  Those  who  remember 
that  occasion  will  remember  it  as  a  red-letter  day  on 
the  Eastern  trotting-turf ,  and  in  closing  my  reference  to 
it,  a  quotation  from  the  Boston  Herald  may  be  par- 
doned :  "  In  they  came  upon  the  track  as  soon  as  the 
deciding  Ijeat  was  finished,  rushing  from  the  grand 
stands  before  the  horses  had  crossed  the  line,  and  filled 
the  space  around  and  in  front  of  the  judges'  stand, 
cheering  for  Smuggler,  his  owner,  his  driver,  Mr. 
Blanchard,  the  track,  etc.,  etc.  Loud  calls  were  made 
for  Marvin,  the  comparatively  unknown  driver  of 
Smuggler,  who  had  thus  suddenly  stepped  into  fame 
with  his  horse,  but  Marvin  declined  to  appear,  and 
quietly  and  modestly  went  to  the  stable  to  look  after 
the  animal  over  which  he  had  handled  the  reins  so  suc- 
cessfully, receiving  cheer  after  cheer  as  he  passed  along. 
Mr.  Russell,  the  owner,  made  his  appearance  in  the 
stand  and  bowed  his  acknowledgments  to  the  ovation 
he  received,  and  then  Dr.  George  B.  Loring  was  intro- 
duced and  made  a  pleasant  little  speech  to  his  '  friends 
and  neighbors,'  the  theme  of  whicn  was,  of  course,  the 
horse Travelers  toward  home  talked  of 


SMUGGLER   THE    CHA^klPIOX.  4:9 

nothing  but  Smuggler's  success,  as  in  the  morning  they 
had  thought  of  Httle  but  Smuggler's  chances  and  the 
chances  of  others  ;  and  even  about  the  hotels  and  other 
places  of  resort  the  evening  was  most  enlivened  by  re- 
counting the  results  of  the  day.  The  great  triumph  of 
Smugo-ler,  perhaps,  is  as  much  due  to  the  firmness  of 
his  owner  as  to  the  horse  himself.  Friend  after  friend 
of  Colonel  Russell  has  for  weeks  importuned  that 
gentleman  to  change  his  driver.  Doble  or  Mace  should, 
in  their  judgment,  be  chosen  to  handle  Smuggler,  in- 
stead of  a  man  concerning  whom  so  little  was  known. 
But  Marvin  had  known  Smuggler  in  Kansas,  had 
broken  him  from  a  pacer  to  a  trotter,  and  Colonel  Rus- 
sell, while  not  doubting  the  ability  of  the  drivers  rec- 
ommended, believed  that  the  modest  man  from  Kan- 
sas knew  more  about  that  particular  horse  than  any 
one  else,  and  refused  to  change.  The  result  has  proved 
that  his  judgment  was  correct,  and  it  is  within  the 
range  of  possibility  that  no  other  v/hip  would  have 
won  the  race  with  Smuggler." 

This  race  finished  Smuggler's  campaign  of  IST-i,  and 
he  went  into  winter  quarters  the  champion  trotting 
stallion  of  the  world.  He  had  thoroughly  made  up  for 
all  his  Grand  Circuit  reverses,  and  in  a  battle  ro^^al  of 
champions  had  covered  himself  with  glory.  So  ISTi 
was,  after  all,  a  brilliant  year  for  Smuggler  and  his 
courageous  and  courtly  owner,  and  the  year  was  not 
wholly  unkind  to  the  Kansas  driver,  who  thus  with  due 
diffidence  made  his  debut  among  the  master  reinsmen 
of  the  grand  circuit. 

During  the  winter  of  1871-75  I  worked  a  stable  of 
horses  in  Kansas,  and  in  the  spring  started  out  to  trot 


50  TRAINING    THE    TROTTING    HORSE, 

through  the  Mississippi,  Kansas  and  Minnesota  circuits^ 
with  a  small  and  not  very  formidable  "  string."  While 
np  in  Minnesota,  in  the  latter  part  of  June,  I  received 
a  telegram  from  Colonel  Russell  to  come  East  and  take 
Smuggler  again.  After  the  campaign  of  1874  it  was 
natural  that  1  should  not  be  quite  content  with  a  lot  of 
2'AO  horses,  so  I  did  not  have  any  hesitation  about 
sending  my  stable  home,  and  making  my  way  to  Bos- 
ton. The  campaign  of  18T5  was  not  of  very  great 
consequence.  In  August  we  started  him  against  time, 
2:20,  at  Boston,  but  father  time  was  the  winner  that 
day.  In  each  trial  he  broke,  though  showing  great 
speed,  and  the  best  he  did  was  2:21.  On  the  4th  of 
September,  at  Beacon  Park,  Smuggler  beat  Nettie, 
2:18,  easily  in  comparatively  slow  time,  the  fastest  heat 
of  the  race  being  2:22^.  September  16th,  at  Hartford, 
he  beat  Sensation  in  straight  heats  in  2:22^,  2:21^, 
2:22.  Then  a  match  race  was  made  for  §2,000  with 
Thomas  Jefferson,  who  had  beaten  Smuggler,  Mam- 
brino  Gift  and  others  in  the  stallion  race  at  Buffalo, 
the  year  before.  The  race  was  trotted  at  Beacon  Park, 
September  30th.  Smuggler  won  the  first  two  heats  in  a 
jog  and  then  Jefferson  was  drawn,  leaving  him  to  walk 
over  for  the  third  heat.  This  ended  his  performances 
for  1875,  and  while  he  was  not  once  beaten  that  year 
the  season's  work  was  something  of  a  disappointment, 
for  after  the  brilliant  wind  up  of  the  year  before  we 
expected  to  lower  the  stallion  record,  the  honor  of 
which  Avas  shared  equally  by  Smuggler  and  Mambrino 
Gift. 

The  season  of  1876  was  destined  to  be  a  busy  and  a 
checkered  one  for  Smuggler.     Defeats  awaited  him. 


CAMPAIGN    OF    1875.  51 

but  they  all  were  to  be  redeemed  in  the  glory  that  was 
to  be  his  when  he  overthrew  the  queen  of  the  turf  in 
a  contest  that  will  be  memorable  as  long  as  the  trotting 
horse  is  known. 

AYe  opened  the  campaign  at  Belmont  Park,  Phila- 
delphia, July  15th,  in  a  race  against  Judge  Pullerton 
for  a  special  purse  of  $2,000.  Belmont  was  a  fast 
track  in  the  Centennial  year,  and  July  15,  1876,  was  a 
hot  day  in  the  Centennial  city.  The  conditions  were, 
therefore,  favorable  for  fast  time.  AVhether  by  reason 
of  the  heat  or  of  the  characteristic  apathy  of  the 
Philadelphians  the  race,  which  should  certainly  have 
been  a  great  drawing  card,  brought  only  a  handful  of 
people  to  Belmont.  Thus  one  of  the  very  best  con- 
tests, between  two  crack  horses,  in  the  history  of  the 
trotting  turf  was  witnessed  by  only  about  300  people. 

Budd  Doble  had  Fullerton  in  grand  shape  and  "  the 
talent "  felt  sure  of  his  victory  and  backed  their  opin- 
ion with  pluck  and  liberality.  The  detailed  account 
of  the  race,  as  published  in  AVilkes'  Spirit  of  the 
Times^  is  here  reprinted  for  the  benefit  of  the  reader  : 

"  First  heat :  To  a  good  send  off  Fullerton  took  the 
lead,  and  at  the  quarter  swept  by  four  lengths  in  ad- 
vance. Smuggler  now  settled  into  that  magnificent 
long,  sweeping  stride  which  has  rendered  him  so 
famous,  and  which,  in  the  great  stallion  race  at  Boston 
electrified  the  thousands  present.  At  the  half  he  had 
closed  to  within  two-lengths,  still  steady  as  a  clock. 
From  this  to  the  three-quarters  he  rapidly  shut  up  the 
daylight,  gaining  at  every  stride.  Entering  the  home- 
stretch his  driver  forced  him  up  a  little,  and  he  re- 
sponded nobly ;  never  making  a  skip,  he  closed  on  Ful- 


52  TRAINING    THE   TROTTING    HORSE. 

lerton,  and,  sweeping  by  him,  shot  under  the  wire  a 
winner  in  2:17-1-.     Immense  applause  greeted  this  effort. 

"  Second  heat :  At  the  third  scoring,  they  got  the 
word,  Fullerton  on  the  outside,  a  half-length  the  best 
of  it.  Trotting  very  rapidly,  the  Judge  opened  a  gap, 
and  at  the  quarter  he  led  three  clear  lengths.  From 
there  to  the  half  no  change  occurred,  but  now  Marvin 
shook  up  Smuggler,  and  he  struck  his  lightning  pace ; 
before  the  three-quarters  was  reached,  he  had  closed  to 
a  length  of  Fallerton.  Coming  up  the  home-stretch, 
Smuggler  never  trotted  better ;  he  collared  the  Judge, 
and  showed  a  neck  in  advance.  Doble  gave  Fullerton 
a  taste  of  the  whip,  and  the  gelding  answered  to  it  in 
a  flash,  and  held  his  own  with  the  whirlwind,  dashing 
under  the  wire  yoked  on  dead  even  terms.  It  was  a 
stunning  finish,  and  made  the  lookers-on  wild  with  ex- 
citement. The  judges  announced  a  dead  heat.  TimCj 
2:18. 

"  Third  heat :  The  betting,  which  had  been  largely 
in  favor  of  Fullerton,  now  swung  around,  and  Smug- 
gler had  the  call  at  $20  to  $17.  Both  horses  had 
cooled  out  well,  and  came  up,  as  it  were,  smiling.  At 
the  third  attempt  they  got  the  word,  once  again  Ful- 
lerton a  little  the  best  of  it.  As  before,  he  trotted 
rapidly  to  the  turn,  leading  two  lengths.  Both  horses 
now  were  sent  for  all  they  were  worth,  and  a  tremen- 
dous struggle  ensued.  Smuggler  gradually  but  surely 
closing ;  at  the  half,  he  lapped  Fullerton's  wheel ;  the 
time  being  1:06.  The  struggle  was  kept  up  to  the 
three-quarters,  the  stallion  steadily  gaining,  passing 
this  point  in  1:41^.  Holding  his  feet  superbly,  he  shot 
by  this  point  with  the  lead,  and  swept  up  the  stretch 


VICTORY   AT   PHILADELPHIA.  53 

winning  by  two  lengths,  in  the  magnificent  time  of 
2:17. 

"  Fourth  heat :  Again,  at  the  third  attempt,  they  re- 
ceived the  word.  This  time  it  was  a  tussle  from  the 
word.  Fiillerton  did  his  best  to  take  his  usual  lead, 
but  Smuggler  never  let  go  his  hold,  and  at  the  quarter 
they  were  neck  and  neck ;  on  they  swept  to  the  half, 
both  doing  tremendous  work.  Reaching  this  point  it 
was  a  question  of  endurance.  Smuggler's  head  only 
showing  in  front — the  time  being  1:07.  The  Judge 
now  seemed  to  tire  on  the  up  grade ;  Smuggler,  fresh 
as  at  the  start,  and  held  well  in  hand,  drew  ahead,  and 
as  they  rounded  into  the  stretch  he  had  two  lengths 
the  best  of  it.  From  this  point  home  he  jogged  in  an 
easy  winner  of  the  grandest  contest  ever  seen  on  a 
trotting  course,  winning  by  five  lengths  in  2:20." 

This  race  again  brought  Smuggler  prominently  be- 
fore the  world  as  a  candidate  for  championship  honors, 
and  surprised  those  who  had  contended  that  his  cam- 
paign of  1875  proved  him  unequal  to  the  task  of  sur- 
passing or  even  equaling  his  performances  of  1871:. 
At  the  very  first  attempt  he  had  not  only  defeated 
one  of  the  most  formidable  campaigners  of  his  day, 
driven  by  the  foremost  reinsman  of  our  time,  but  he 
had  chipped  three  seconds  off  the  stallion  record,  and 
between  him  and  the  proud  title  of  King  of  the  Turf 
there  only  stood  one  stumbling-block — Goldsmith  Maid, 
2:14.  But  what  an  opponent  he  had  to  beat  in  her! 
She  was  a  mare  of  "  blood  and  iron "  at  her  best,  and 
her  record  as  a  campaigner  stands  to-day  unequaled. 
So,  with  the  knowledge  that  there  was  "one  more 
river  to  cross" — and  a  wide  one — Smuggler  and  his  re- 
tinue started  for  Cleveland  to  struggle  for  the  crown. 


64  TEAINING   THE   TROTTING   HORSE. 


CHAPTER  lY. 

THE  GREAT  RACE  WITH  GOLDSMITH  MAID — THE  DETAILS 
OF  THE  MOST  MEMORABLE  RACE  OF  THE  CENTENNIAL 
YEAR A  CLOSE  CALL "  S.  T.  H.'s  "  GRAPHIC  DESCRIP- 
TION. 

During  the  fall  of  1875,  and  before  the  race  with 
FuUerton,  I  had  been  slowly  reducing  the  weight  of 
Smuggler's  shoes.  I  had  gradually  got  the  fore  shoes 
down  to  twentj^-four  ounces,  and  though  it  was  neces- 
sar}^  to  '*  go  slow,"  we  were  getting  weight  off  and  im- 
proving at  the  same  time,  as  the  race  against  Fullerton 
proved.  There  was  at  this  time  a  great  deal  of  non- 
sense being  written  and  talked  of  Smuggler,  and  a 
Philadelphia  newspaper  man  made  a  bold  bid  for  first 
place  when,  in  commenting  on  the  Fullerton  race,  he 
declared  that  Smuggler  "  has  been  trotting  with  two- 
found  toe-weights  until  recently,  when,  by  careful  and 
scientific  handling,  his  driver  has  reduced  them  to  one 
pound."  As  a  matter  of  fact.  Smuggler  seldom  wore 
toe-weights  in  races.  AVhen  his  shoes  were  greatly 
worn  I  sometimes  had  occasion  to  put  on  a  four-ounce 
toe-weight,  but  that  was  all.  The  weight  was  enor- 
mous, but  it  was  all  in  the  shoe. 

The  race  at  Cleveland,  July  27,  1876,  was  so  im- 
portant an  event — not  alone  in  my  experience  as  a 
trainer,  but  in  the  history  of  the  trotting-turf — that  I 


THE    BATTLE-EOYAL    OF    '78.  65 

■cannot  pass  it  by  briefly.  I  dislike  to  dwell  on  my 
own  successes  lest  what  I  say  be  attributed  to  egotism, 
so  1  will  make  but  a  few  remarks  on  that  event  and 
quote  a  description  written  by  another. 

Though  Goldsmith  Maid  was  clearly  the  favorite, 
the  ovation  accorded  Smuggler,  on  his  appearance  on 
the  track,  surprised  me.  But  his  victory  over  Judge 
Fullerton,  and  especially  his  lowering  the  stallion 
record,  at  Philadelphia,  had  given  him  greater  prestige 
than  he  enjoyed  even  after  winning  the  stallion  cham- 
pionship at  Boston.  He  was  looked  to  as  the  only 
horse  m  the  field  having  any  possible  chance  against 
Goldsmith  Maid,  and  the  public  naturally  cheered  a 
horse  that  was  good  enough  to  dare  to  dispute  the 
supremacy  of  the  popular  idol — the  long-time  queen  of 
the  turf.  Another  reason  for  the  enthusiasm  was  the 
popularity  of  his  owner,  the  courth"  and  accomplished 
gentleman.  Colonel  Henry  S.  Russell. 

Here  was  the  field  that  faced  the  starter  :  Goldsmith 
Maid,  2:14,  driven  by  Budd  Doble ;  Lucille  Golddust, 
2:19|-,  driven  by  Charley  Green  ;  Judge  Fullerton,  2:18, 
driven  by  Dan  Mace ;  Bodine,  2:19^,  driven  by  Peter 
Johnston;  Smuggler,  2:17,  driven  by  C.  Marvin. 

"\7ith  the  exception  of  Lula,  then  just  becoming 
famous  as  one  in  the  first  rank  of  "  cranks."  this  field 
comprised  the  cream  of  the  trot  ting-turf  of  that  day, 
and  all  things  considered  another  such  field  has  never 
come  together  on  any  track.  Goldsmith  Maid  won  the 
first  heat  in  2:15|^,  the  fastest  heat  trotted  in  a  race  up 
to  that  time,  but  Smuggler  was  only  beaten  a  neck, 
and  that  after  throwing  a  shoe  at  the  head  of  the 
stretch.   The  Maid  finished  tired,  and  Doble  had  to  use 


56  TRAINING   THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 

the  whip  persistently  to  get  her  home  ahead  of  1113^  un- 
balanced trotter.  In  the  second  heat  Smuggler  broke 
badly  at  the  start  and  I  laid  him  up,  just  dropping  in- 
side the  flag,  the  Maid  winning  in  2:17^.  With  two 
heats  to  her  credit  it  was  now  a  brown-stone  house 
against  a  peanut  stand  that  the  mare  would  win.  The 
third  heat  was  a  desperate  one.  Swinging  into  the 
stretch  I  got  Smuggler  lapped  on  the  Maid,  and  from 
that  home  I  did  all  I  knew  to  keep  him  together  and 
3^et  call  forth  his  best  effort,  while  Doble  em- 
ployed every  resource  of  the  master  reinsman  he  is 
to  drive  the  mare  over  the  score  in  front  As  the 
Spirit  put  it :  "  At  the  draw-gate  Budd  had  but  a  neck 
the  best  of  it,  and  now  he  nearly  went  wild  in  his 
efforts  to  reach  the  goal  first,  and  save  the  reputation 
of  his  darling  mare.  At  the  distance  stand  she  gave 
it  up,  and  Smuggler  winning  by  a  head  only  had  be- 
come famous.  Time,  2:1 6^.  This  race  has  probably 
never  had  an  equal  for  wild  and  frenzied  excitement 
since  the  day  of  Fashion  and  Peytonia,  Henry  and 
Echpse,  and  AVagner  and  Grey  Eagle."  Such  a  tumult 
is  rarely  witnessed  as  occurred  on  the  Cleveland  track 
that  day,  and  in  the  wild  storm  of  applause  I  know 
there  were  many  who  cheered  for  Doble  and  the  gal- 
lant old  mare  for  the  great  tight  they  made.  But  the 
victorv,  now  seeminglv  within  our  grasp,  was  very 
nearly  snatched  away  in  the  fourth  heat.  Smuggler, 
though  at  the  pole,  was  sent  away  rather  behind,  and 
Doble  took  it  with  Goldsmith  Maid  running.  Green 
had  Lucille  Golddust  lapped  on  the  outside  of  Smug- 
gler, and  Fullerton  was  close  up  also.  We  were  thus 
soon  in  an  "  air-tight  pocket."     Going  at  a  2:16  gait  a 


SMUGGLER    AND   GOLDSMITH    MAID.  57 

man  has  not  a  great  deal  of  time  to  make  plans  or 
speculate  on  what  may  happen,  but  I  trailed  along  not 
supposing  that  Green  would  endeavor  to  hold  me  in 
the  pocket,  with  the  mare  having  two  heats  and  thus 
give  her  the  race.  Besides  I  expected  Doble  to  go  too 
fast  for  Lucille  in  the  last  quarter  and  thus  make  an 
opening.  But  it  soon  became  clear  that  they  had  me 
there  and  meant  to  keep  me  there,  and  when  well  up 
the  stretch  I  saw  only  a  desperate  chance  and  took  it. 
That  was  to  drop  behind  Lucille,  pull  out  and  go 
around  the  pair,  and  trust  to  one  supreme  burst  of 
speed  to  make  up  the  lost  ground  and  beat  the  Maid 
to  the  wire.  Green  did  not  observe  the  movement 
until  I  had  Smuggler  straightened  on  the  outside,  and, 
as  he  saw  Smuggler's  white  face  at  his  shoulder  and 
coming  like  a  whirlwind,  he  shouted,  "Look  out,  Budd, 
he's  out."  In  the  emergency  Doble  became  "  rattled," 
as  we  now  express  it,  suddenly  went  to  tue  whip,  and 
drove  the  mare  off  her  feet.  True  and  straight,  with 
a  burst  of  speed  that  no  horse  that  ever  trod  the  turi 
could  excel,  Smuo-o-ler  rushed  on  to  victorv,  winnino-  the 
heat  by  a  neck,  and  with  that  heat  vanished  the 
Maid's  last  hope.  In  speaking  of  that  sudden  grasp  at 
our  only  chance — seemingly  a  forlorn  hope — and  of 
that  meteoric  rush  at  the  hnish,  a  turf-writer  said  :  "A 
smile  of  triumph  lighted  Doble's  face,  and  the  crowd 
settled  sullenl}^  down  to  the  belief  that  the  race  was 
over.  Marvin  was  denounced  as  a  fool  for  placing 
himself  at  such  a  disadvantage,  and  imagination  pict- 
ured just  beyond  the  wire  the  crown  of  Goldsmith  Maid 
with  new  laurels  woven  in  it.  But  look,  bv  the  D:hosts 
of  the  de23arted!  Marvin  has  determined  upon  a  bold 


58  TRAINING   THE   TROTTING    HORSE. 

experiment.  He  falls  back,  and  to  the  right,  with  the 
intention  of  getting  out  around  the  pocket.  Too  late, 
too  late,  is  the  hoarse  whisper.  Why,  man,  you  have 
but  a  hundred  and  fifty  yards  to  straighten  your  horse 
and  head  the  Maid,  whose  speed  has  been  reserved  for 
just  such  an  occasion  as  this.  Her  gait  is  2:14,  and  you 
are  simply  mad.  The  uncounted  thousands  hold  their 
breath.  The  stallion  does  not  leave  his  feet  although 
pulled  at  a  forty -five  angle  to  the  right,  and  the  mo 
ment  that  his  head  is  clear  and  the  path  open  he 
dashes  forward  with  the  speed  of  the  staghound.  It  is 
more  like  flying  than  trotting.  Smuggler  goes  over 
the  score  a  winner  of  the  heat  by  a  neck,  and  the  roar 
which  comes  from  the  grand-stand  and  the  quarter- 
stretch  is  deafening.  As  Marvin  comes  back  to  the 
stand  to  weigh,  the  ovation  is  even  greater  than  that 
which  he  received  in- the  preceding  heat.  Nothing  like 
the  burst  of  speed  he  had  shown  had  ever  been  seen  on 
ihe  track,  and  it  may  be  that  it  never  will  be  seen 
again."  It  was,  perhaps,  bad  judgment  on  my  part  to 
gel  mto  the  pocket,  but  the  way  in  which  the  heat  was 
pulled  out  of  the  fire  atoned  for  it,  and  the  public 
cheered  the  same  as  if  no  apparent  mistake  had  been 
made.  Many  who  cheered  that  da}^  had  cursed  "  the 
hoosier"  two  years  before  at  Buffalo,  and  had  Smug- 
gler lost  his  feet  in  the  desperate  maneuver  he  would 
have  lost  the  race,  and  the  cheers  would  have  changed 
to  imprecations.  So  fickle  a  thing  is  public  favor,  and 
upon  so  narrow  threads  depend  victor \^  or  defeat ! 

That  heat  made  it  clear  that  a  combination  had  been 
formed  to  beat  Smuggler.  The  pocket  game  did  not 
York,  and  tactics  were  changed.     The  trick  now  was 


60  TRAINING    THE   TROTTING    HORSE. 

to  worry  Smuggler  in  scoring,  and  he  threw  the  shoe 
that  had  gone  in  the  first  heat  again.  There  was  more 
scoring  and  in  a  break  Smuggler  threw  another  shoe. 
With  the  scoring  and  shoeing  an  hour  was  consumed, 
and  the  delay,  it  was  believed,  would  rest  the  mare  and 
thus  favor  her  chances.  When  we  got  away  Mace 
rushed  Fullerton  out  to  set  a  killing  pace,  the  idea 
being  for  him  to  fight  Smuggler  in  the  early  part  of 
the  heat,  while  the  Maid  trailed,  reserving  her  strength 
for  a  fight  in  the  stretch,  when  it  was  thought  she 
might  outfoot  the  horse  after  Fullerton  had  done  with 
him.  The  scheme  was  a  complete  failure.  I  had  Ful- 
lerton beaten  at  the  half-mile,  and  the  Maid  was 
unable  to  give  a  serious  challenge  in  the  stretch,  Smug- 
gler winning  eas}^  in  2:17i.  This  was  conceded  to  have 
been  the  hardest  fought  race  up  to  that  day,  and  the 
heats  were  the  fastest  five  consecutive  miles  on  record. 
The  shadows  of  evenino^  were  fallino-  when  the  last 
cheers  were  re  echoing  on  "  the  change  of  dynasty." 
The  haught}^  queen  that  so  proudly  and  imperiously 
strode  forth  to  sure  and  certain  victory  in  the  bright 
sunlight  of  the  afternoon  that  w^as  to  be  her  greatest 
day  of  triumph  had  by  dusk  laid  dowj  the  crown. 
Here  is  the  summaiw  of  the  great  race : 

Cleveland,  Ohio,  July  27,  1876.— Purse  $4,000;  free  for  all. 
H.  S.  Russell's  b,  s.  Smuggler,  by  Blanco.  .25111 

Budd  Doble's  b.  m.  Goldsmith  Maid 1     1     2    2    2 

C.  S.  Green's  b.  m.  Lucille  Golddust 4    2     3    3    3 

W.  M.  Humphrey's  ch,  g.  Judge  Fullerton.     5     3     4    4    4 

H.  C.  Goodrich's  b.  g.  Bodine 3    4    5    5    5 

Time,  2:15i— 2:17^— 2:16i— 2:19|— 2:17^. 

In  closing  this  description  let  me  say  that  through 


"s.  T.  h's."  desceiption.  61 

a^l  our  battles  and  ever  since  I  have  had  the  warmest 
friendship  for  Eudd  Doble,  and  he  has  done  me  many 
a  kindness  that  is  not  forgotten.  ^Ye  have  too  few 
Budd  Dobles  on  the  turf.  He  is  an  honest  and  up- 
right gentleman  m  the  sulky  and  out,  and  no  better 
driver  ever  pulled  rein  over  a  horse. 

Xow  I  have  had  my  say  about  the  sensational  race 
of  1ST6,  and  I  am  sure  the  following  condensation  of  a 
description  written  by  that  brilliant  writer  S.  T.  Harris, 
in  Wallace's  Jlont/di/,  will  be  a  treat  to  the  readers  of 
this  book.  Few  men  wield  a  pen  so  gracefullv  as  "S. 
T.  H.,"  and  I  feel  that  this,  one  of  his  best  descriptive 
articles,  deserves  a  place  here : 

"  The  writer  had  taken  the  night  train  from  Cincin- 
nati on  the  evening  before  to  see  this  mighty  contest, 
which  the  victory  of  Smuggler  over  Judge  Fullerton  in 
2:17,  at  Belmont  Park  a  few  days  before,  gave  promise 
would  be  memorable  in  trotting  annals. 

"The  train  reached  Cleveland  in  tlie  morning  twi- 
light, just  in  time  to  enable  us  to  repair  to  the  track  to 
witness  the  great  horses  taking  their  early  exercise  on 
the  half-mile  course  of  the  agi'icultural  department  of 
the  fair-grounds. 

"  Standing  at  the  head  of  the  stretch,  we  had  a  fine 
forehanded  view  of  the  great  concourse  of  trotting- 
horses  entered  for  the  races.  First  came  Charley 
Green,  behind  Lucille  Golddust,  whose  speed  and  en- 
durance are  both  severely  taxed  by  the  wide,  clawing 
action  of  her  front  feet;  and  then  the  white  face  of 
Judge  Fullerton,  piloted  by  Dan  Mace,  a  genius  in  the 
sulky  and  an  idiot  out  of  it,  came  in  sight,  plodding 
along  with  that  high,  violent,  plunging,  forward  move- 


62  TRAINING   THE    TRAINING    HORSE. 

ment  that  marks  his  marvelous  waste  of  muscular 
action  in  front.  ^N'ot  far  behind  him  Bodine  jogged 
into  the  stretch,  with  that  low,  straight,  thoroughbred 
knee-action  for  which  the  Volunteers  have  become 
famous.  Then  Goklsmith  Maid  came  skipping  along, 
with  that  artistic  trick  of  hers  that  has  enabled  her  to 
3tire  with  the  fastest  record  on  the  trotting-turf. 
Behind  them  all  came  Smuggler,  well-poised,  with  that 
perfect  balance  that  comes  f»'om  a  symmetrical  frame, 
covered  with  a  great  wealtn  of  muscular  power  and 
animated  with  a  level  brain,  conscious  of  its  unequaled 
capacity.  As  he  moved  past  us,  with  ease,  with  power 
and  with  precision,  he  certainly  looked  like  an  emperor 
among  the  throngs  of  celebrated  horses,  just  as  Aga- 
memnon towered  above  the  bands  of  Grecian  heroes. 

"At  the  lunch  given  by  President  Edwards,  later  in 
the  day,  the  writer  asked  Budd  Dobie,  whether  he 
would  permit  Smuggler  to  win  one  fast  heat  for  the 
purposes  of  a  stallion  record.  With  grim  determina- 
tion he  responded  :  '  Xo.  If  Smuggler  scores  a  fast 
record  to-day  he  will  have  to  beat  the  Maid,  and  that 
will  not  be  easy  to  do,  in  my  judgment.'  Then  I 
was  convinced  that  the  contest  would  prove  a  battle 
among  giants. 

"  The  lunch  over  we  eagerly  repaired  to  the  race- 
course. Already  the  grand-stand  was  overflowing  with 
a  brilliant  assemblage  of  elegantly  dressed  ladies  and 
gentlemen,  that  presented  the  appearance  of  the  gor- 
geous throngs  of  the  elite  that  fill  the  boxes  at  the 
opera  on  gala  nights.  The  quarter-stretch  was  densely 
crowded  with  men,  and  the  field  enclosed  by  the  mile- 
course  was  packed  with  vehicles  of  every  description. 


WORD   PAIXTIXG.  63 

The  militant  band  of  the  Cleveland  Greys  was  dis- 
coursino^  inspiring  music.  The  roads  were  thronged 
with  an  interminable  procession  of  carriages  and  street 
cars.  The  steam  cars  were  rolling  in  long  trains  of 
eager  passengers,  and  the  entire  tout  emenible  pre- 
sented a  scene  of  tip-toe  expectation,  such  as  pre- 
cedes the  consummation  of  some  lono^-heralded,  o-reat 
event. 

"  But  when  the  bell  rang  for  the  appearance  of  the 
horses  to  contend  in  the  free-for-all  race,  the  impatience 
of  the  vast  throng  to  catch  the  first  glimpse  of  the 
grand  entries  rose  to  the  very  height  of  enthusiasm. 
The  first  to  make  her  appearance  was  the  wonderful 
queen  of  the  turf,  Goldsmith  Maid,  then  in  her  twen- 
tieth year,  yet  looking  as  lithe  and  delicate  as  a.  colt, 
although  she  had  campaigned  for  eleven  years,  and 
had  asserted 'her  supremacy  in  many  desperate  turf 
contests,  from  the  lengthened  shadows  of  the  Green 
Mountains  of  Vermont  to  the  golden  gates  of  the 
jeweled  daughter  of  the  Pacific. 

"  As  she  moved  gracefully  past  the  grand-stand,  ten 
thousand  applauding  hands  and  waving  handkerchiefs 
welcomed  her  and  her  master  trainer,  Budd  Doble,  be- 
tween whom  it  is  ditficult  to  determine  which  has 
showered  the  greatest  honors  upon  the  other.  Then 
Fullerton,  with  Dan  Mace  bowing  profusely  to  the 
ladies,  as  if  he  was  the  Beau  Brummel  of  the  trotting- 
turf,  came  by  with  his  poise  of  head  and  neck,  and 
high,  determined  knee-action,  in  exaggeration  of  the 
movement  of  that  incomparable  trotter,  Dexter.  He 
was  closely  followed  by  Lucille  Golddust,  whose  driver, 
Charley  Green,  had,  within  a  few  years,  risen  to  the 


64:  TBAINING   THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 

highest  fame  as  a  trainer.  They  had  hardly  passed 
through  their  shower  of  applause,  when  Bodine,  the 
splendid  son  of  Volunteer,  renewed  the  greetings.  But 
when  Smuggler  jogged  through  the  gates,  and  some 
one  exclaimed,  'There  comes  Smuggler!'  the  entire 
assemblage  rose  to  their  feet  with  round  after  round  of 
deafening  plaudits  to  the  cham]Hon  from  the  land- 
ocean  prairies  of  Kansas.  Neither  the  horse  nor  his 
trainer,  Marvin,  paid  any  more  attention  to  the  en- 
thusiastic greetings  than  if  they  had  been  born  both 
deaf  and  blind.  The  main  facts  in  the  history  of  the 
horse  seemed  to  be  familiar  even  to  the  ladies  in  the 
vast  assemblage. 

"  When  the  places  were  assigned,  FuUerton  had  the 
pole,  Goldsmith  ]VEaid  next,  then  Lucille  Golddust,  with 
Bodine  fourth,  and  Smuggler,  at  the  greatest  disadvan- 
tage, on  the  outside. 

*'Two  false  attempts,  and  they  were  sent  off  with  a 
beautiful  start  for  all,  except  Smuggler,  whose  power- 
ful action  had  not  yet  acquired  sufficient  space  to  attain 
its  full  speed.  Before  the  first  turn  was  reached,  Ful- 
lerton  had  indulged  in  one  of  his  provokingly  slow 
breaks,  and  Goldsmith  Maid  had  quickly  taken  his 
place  at  the  pole  as  the  leader.  Bodine  had  rapidly 
trotted  up  into  the  second  ]:>lace,  and,  strange  to  say, 
Smuggler  was  close  to  his  wheel,  while  Lucille  Gold- 
dust  was  five  lengths  in  the  rear,  and  Fullerton  fully 
fifteen  lengths  behind.  At  the  quarter-pole,  Goldsmith 
Maid  had  a  fine  lead.  She  fairly  flew  over  the  back- 
stretch,  but  Smuggler  was  coming  on  to  her  very  fast. 
He  outfooted  Bodine,  and  was  second  at  the  half-mile 
pole.     From  that  place  to  the  head  of  the  last  quarter. 


THE    BATTLE.  65 

he  perceptibly  closed  up  the  space  between  himself  and 
the  leader,  till  they  swung  into  the  home-stretch. 
Here  he  suddenly  faltered  for  an  instant,  and  then 
quickly  came  on  again  like  a  whirlwind,  finishing  at 
the  girths  of  Goldsmith  Maid  in  2:1 5|-.  The  faltering 
at  the  head  of  the  stretch  was  owino^  to  his  castino-  his 
off  front  shoe;  to  which  accident,  undoubtedly,  the 
wonderful  daughter  of  Alexander's  Abdallah  may 
attribute  her  victory  in  this  first  heat.  She  seemed  to 
be  relieved  when  the  score  was  crossed ;  but  the  rush- 
ing speed  of  Smuggler  under  these  adverse  circum- 
stances proved  how  level  is  his  brain,  how  determined 
is  his  courage,  how  electric  is  his  speed,  and  how  tre- 
mendous is  his  momentum  when  in  full  motion ;  all  of 
which  qualities  are  invaluable  to  him  as  the  progenitor 
of  grand  trotting-performers. 

"  The  second  heat  was  started  after  one  false  score. 
Goldsmith  Maid  rushed  to  the  lead,  while  Smuggler, 
unable  to  trot  around  the  first  turn,  broke  badly,  fall- 
ing back  more  than  a  distance  before  he  resumed  his 
troto  Every  spectator  thought  he  would  be  in- 
gloriously  distanced,  as  the  entire  field  had  left  him 
back  in  the  dust,  too  far  it  seemed,  for  him  ever  to  bid 
defiance  to  the  distance  flag;  but,  again,  the  level 
stride,  heroic  resolution,  and  amazing  speed  came  to 
his  rescue.  Rapidly  he  closed  up  the  gap,  and,  when 
they  reached  the  wire  in  2:17^  he  was  again  in  their 
company,  only  ten  lengths  behind.  Again,  on  the 
second  score,  the  word  was  given  for  the  third  heat. 
The  fleet-footed,  quick-witted  little  queen  again  shot  to 
the  front,  followed  by  Fullerton  two  lengths  behind, 
with  Lucille  Golddust  at  his  wheel,  Smuggler  close  up 


(j6  training  the  trotting  horse. 

to  her,  and  Bodine  in  the  rear.  They  all  trotted  very 
rapidly  and  steadily  to  the  half-mile  pole,  the  Maid 
reaching  there  in  1:08|,  with  Lucille  four  lengths  be- 
hind her,  and  Fullerton  at  her  wheel.  Smuggler,  in 
the  meantime,  had  swung  to  the  extreme  outside,  and 
was  trotting  with  amazing  speed.  Before  the  three- 
quarter  ])ole  was  reached,  he  pad  passed  both  the  best 
daughter  of  Golddust  and  the  swiftest  son  of  Edward 
Everett,  and  his  broad  white  face  appeared  instantly 
with  the  form  of  Goldsmith  Maid  as  she  swung  into 
the  home-stretch,  trotting  so  near  to  the  pole  to  save 
distance  that  it  seemed  almost  certain  her  sulky  wheel 
would  strike  the  inside  fence.  Smuggler  did  not  seem 
to  care  to  economize  space.  He  swung  boldl}^  into  the 
center  of  the  course.  On  came  the  leaders,  like  fright- 
ened phantoms  fleeing  from  pursuing  fate.  Doble  was 
lifting  the  little  mare  and  vigorously  applying  the  whip. 
Gallantly  did  she  respond  to  every  call  upon  her  speed 
and  endurance.  Marfan,  with  firmly-extended  limbs 
and  tightly-nerved  outstretched  arms,  was  bracing 
himself  to  hold  Smuggler  together,  not  to  force  him 
ahead.  At  the  drawgates  the  mare  was  only  one-half 
length  in  advance  of  the  might}^  stallion.  Doble  put 
forth  superhuman  eiforts  to  land  the  mare  a  winner. 
He  shifted  the  bit  in  her  mouth,  and  welted  her  sides 
with  his  whip,  and  fairly  worked  his  bod}^  forward  to 
force  along  the  sulky^  at  the  last  fraction  of  a  second 
lettino:  o'o  of  her  head,  in  order  that  her  outstretched 
neck  might  give  her  the  victory  by  at  least  a  throat 
latch.  But  at  that  instant  Smuggler  was  mightier 
than  the  queen  and  her  master  reinsman  combined. 
On  he  came  with  that  true,  powerful  stride,  and  truer, 


THE    EXCITEMENT    OF    RACIXG.  67 

more  resolute  purpose,  till  the  daylight  showed  be- 
tween his  white  nose  and  the  flashing  eye  of  the  mare, 
and  he  passed  the  score  just  a  head  and  neck  in 
advance. 

"  The  buzz  and  hum  and  flutter  on  the  grand-stand  as 
the  horses  were  sweeping  over  the  far  side  of  the  course 
had  died  away  into  profound  silence  when  the  leaders 
whirled  into  the  home-stretch.  Every  figure  was  on 
tip-toe,  every  eye  was  strained  to  its  utmost  tension  of 
vision,  and  every  heart  was  hushed  to  the  faintest 
throbbing,  till  the  magnificent  finish  of  Smuggler  had 
landed  him  the  winner  of  the  heat ;  and  then  ten 
thousand  white  handkerchiefs  waved  to  his  victory, 
and  more  than  ten  thousand  throats  shouted  wild, 
deafening  hurrahs  to  his  well-earned  triumph.  The 
trotting  world  seemed  to  be  on  the  eve  of  a  change  of 
dynasty.  The  heat  was  won  in  2:16|^,  and  he  trotted 
the  last  half  of  the  mile,  b}"  the  writer's  watch,  in 
1:07.  In  this  vast,  swaying  throng  of  excited  specta- 
tors two  attentive  watchers  stood  exceptionally  silent. 
Behind  me,  elevated  on  her  chair,  stood  the  wife  of 
Goldsmith  Maid's  driver,  arra3^ed  like  the  Queen  of 
Sheba  in  oriental  colors,  richer  than  the  brilhant  hues 
of  the  rainbow.  But  her  features,  in  marked  contrast 
to  her  raiment,  were  pale  as  alabaster,  and  her  counte- 
nance was  dejected  with  forebodings  of  the  impending 
defeat  of  the  little  mare,  whose  performances  had  ele- 
vated her  husband  to  the  highest  fame  in  trotting  cir- 
cles. Above  her,  dressed  in  the  plain  garb  of  re'jDubli- 
can  simplicity,  rose  the  form  of  the  scholarly  owner 
of  Smuggler,  wiping  from  his  brow,  with  the  broad 
palms  of  his  tremendous  hands,  the  perspiration  that 


68  TRAINING  THE  TROTTING  HORSE. 

bathed  his  head  and  face  as  if  it  flowed  from  inex- 
haustible springs.  No  excitement  surpasses  that  of  the 
race-course,  in  very  important,  closelj^-contested  heats, 
both  to  the  rival  horses,  their  jockeys  and  their  owners. 
That  mountain  of  flesh,  General  Buford,  had  bravely 
ridden  up  to  the  foe  on  many  a  battle-field  of  the  lost 
cause,  even  w^hen  his  face  was  darkened  by  thick- 
coming  showers  of  loyal  bullets,  without  blanching  in 
the  least ;  but  when  his  deer-like  race-horse,  Versailles, 
thrilled  the  audience  at  the  Buckeye  Course  by  chal- 
lenging the  champion  Herzog  for  the  lead  and  beating 
him  home  the  first  heat  in  the  then  remarkable  time  of 
1:43|,  the  stalwart  General  suddenly  gave  way  to  a 
spasm  of  nervous  paroxysms,  as  he  wrung  his  hands 
with  joy  before  that  vast  throng,  and  exclaimed  in 
tearful  hysterics :  '  My  God,  the  fearful  strain  upon  my 
nervous  system  is  positively  overwhelming.'  If  any 
reader  dreams  that  such  a  mighty  struggle  as  that  be- 
tween the  emperor  and  the  empress  of  the  trotting-turf 
does  not  awaken  in  the  interested  spectator  the  very 
superlative  of  nervous  tension,  he  should  have  gazed 
upon  the  two  faces  we  have  sketched,  revealing  a  mo- 
ment of  supreme  joy  to  the  one  and  of  depressive  sor- 
row to  the  other. 

"Never  was  witnessed  a  grander  performance  on  the 
trotting-turf  till  Smuggler  ecHpsed  his  own  greatness 
in  the  succeeding  heat.  In  vain  did  Doble  plead  with 
the  judges  for  the  heat,  laying  before  them  the  old  age 
and  gallant  struggle  of  the  favorite  mare,  but  they 
were  inexorable.  Despite  his  special  pleadings  the 
heat  was  given  to  Smuggler,  amid  the  acclaims  of  the 
approving  spectators.     The  results  of  the  concluding 


OUT   OF   THE   POCKET.  69 

heats  Tvere  awaited  by  the  vast  concourse  with  intense 
impatience. 

"AVhen  the  bell  tapped  for  the  fourth  heat  every 
spectator  sprung  to  his  feet.  On  the  second  score  the 
horses  were  sent  on  their  way,  with  Smuggler  at  the 
pole,  but  fully  two  lengths  behind  when  the  word  to 
start  was  given.  Again  Goldsmith  Maid  took  the  lead, 
rushino^  in  front  of  Smuo:o:ler,  while  Lucille  Golddust 
forced  her  way  to  the  outside  of  Smuggler,  and  Fuller- 
ton  trotted  close  up  to  Lucille's  wheel.  Then  it  be- 
came evident  that  the  three  ablest  trainers  on  the  turf, 
Doble,  Mace  and  Green,  and  the  three  swiftest  trot- 
tino'-horses  on  the  turf,  Goldsmith  Maid,  Lucille  Gold- 
dust  and  Fullerton,  were  combined  to  beat  the  cham- 
pion stallion  Smuggler.  These  were  fearful  odds. 
Nothing  but  the  greatest  speed,  the  most  perfectly 
balanced  brain  and  the  most  indomitable  courage 
could  overcome  them.  There  they  had  Smuggler  se- 
curely held  in  a  double  pocket.  Doble  drove  the 
Maid  just  fast  enough  to  enable  his  helpers  to  keep 
up  the  pace  and  hold  Smuggler  in  his  disadvantageous 
position.  All  around  the  course  till  they  swung  into 
the  home-stretch  was  he  thus  safely  kept  a  prisoner. 
They  were  then  coming  home  better  than  a  2:20  gait. 
Suddenly  Mar^in  pulled  Smuggler  back.  The  leaders, 
not  dreaming  of  this  piece  of  strategy,  rushed  on  to- 
gether in  a  close  group.  After  they  had  passed,  Mar- 
vin deliberately  pulled  Smuggler  to  the  extreme  out- 
side and  attempted  to  win  the  heat.  His  success 
seemed  to  be  impossible.  With  almost  any  other 
horse,  trotting  at  such  a  rate  of  speed,  such  a  maneu- 
ver would  have  soured  his  temper  or  discouraged  his 


70  TRAINING    THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 

resolution  or  staggered  his  gait  so  that  he  would  have 
indulged  in  a  heart-broken,  maddened,  fatal  break. 
But  not  so  the  nicely  -  poised,  grandly  -  determined 
Smuggler.  Instantly  he  resumed  his  wonderful 
stride.  On  he  came  to  his  adversaries,  with  the  fatal 
swoop  of  an  unerring  eagle  on  its  prey,  rapidly  pass- 
ing the  astonished  Lucille  and  the  strugghng  Fullerton 
till  he  overtook  the  fleet-footed  Maid  at  the  draw- 
gates,  and  rapidly  outfooting  her,  beat  her  to  the  score 
in  two  minutes,  nineteen  and  three-quarter  seconds. 
After  such  a  splendid  exhibition  of  balanced  action^ 
subjected  to  such  an  unexampled  test,  how  futile  is  the 
tape-line  assertion  of  Mr.  Helm  that  Smuggler  is  an 
inch  too  short  in  the  muscles  of  the  forearm  and  too 
heavy  forehanded  for  trotting  equilibrium.  The  elec- 
tric rush  of  his  finish  fairly  frenzied  the  excited  multi- 
tude. Their  former  deafening  plaudits  seemed  almost 
like  the  echoes  that  now  came  from  the  reverberations 
of  the  surrounding  forests.  Again  the  water  flowed 
down  Colonel  Russell's  face  like  a  river,  and  the  lady 
spectator  below  him,  overcome  by  the  defeat  of  her 
favorite,  retired  from  public  inspection,  ashen-pale  and 
sick  at  heart. 

"  The  fifth  heat  was  called  promptly  on  time.  Smug- 
gler seemed  to  be  getting  very  lame  in  the  off  fore 
foot,  but  otherwise  he  was  as  fresh  and  composed,  ap- 
parently, as  when  he  first  came  out  for  the  race.  He 
seemed  to  possess  more  determination  to  triumph  than 
ever  before.  On  the  second  and  fourth  scores,  so  eager 
was  he  to  rush  to  the  front  that  he  pulled  off  his  right 
fore  shoe.  To  replace  it  required  considerable  delay,, 
which   encouraged   the  backers   of   Goldsmith   Maid. 


VICTORY.  71 

They  argued  that  the  delay  rested  her,  and  that  the 
pulling  of  his  shoes  proved  Smuggler  was  at  least  leg- 
weary.  She,  therefore,  sold  in  the  pools  about  even 
against  the  field,  including  Smuggler.  But  on  that  day 
they  counted  without  their  host.  Had  they  noticed 
the  grim  resolution  of  the  stallion  during  one  of  the 
false  starts,  they  would  have  saved  much  of  their 
wafj:ered  o^old.  On  the  fourth  score  so  anxious  was  he 
to  get  off,  that,  when  Marvin  took  a  strong  pull  to  re- 
strain him,  he  resolutely  took  the  bit  in  his  teeth,  and, 
stretching  out  the  powerful  muscles  of  his  neck,  he 
bent  over  and  straightened  out  the  strong  iron  water- 
hook  on  the  saddle  as  if  it  had  been  only  a  bit  of  deli- 
cate tinsel  ornament. 

"  On  the  sixtn  trial  the  start  was  announced.  From 
the  score  it  was  evident  the  conspirators  had  changed 
their  tactics. 

"Goldsmith  Maid  was  held  back,  trailing  behind 
Smuggler.  At  the  turn  Fuilerton  was  forced  ahead  to 
set  the  pace.  He  rushed  to  the  quarter  in  thirty-four 
and  one-half  seconds,  and  sped  on  to  the  half-mile  in 
1:08^.  Then  he  dropped  back,  giving  way  for  the 
mare;  and  the  Maid,  comparatively  fresh,  was  sent 
along  to  measure  strides  with  the  stallion,  whose  brush 
wich  Fuilerton  was  mtended  to  tire  him.  This  is  the 
well-known  jockey  trick  of  'two  pluck  one,'  and  in 
nearly  every  mstance  two  horses  can  tire  and  vanquish 
a  third  contestant,  even  though  he  has  several  seconds 
the  advantage  in  speed  and  endurance.  But  Smuggler 
was  more  than  a  match  against  these  fearful  odds. 
Goldsmith  ^laid  made  a  gallant  brush  for  the  lead ; 
but  the  grand  stallion  had  then  attained  to  his  greatest 


72  TKAmnia  the  trotting  horse. 

momentum.  After  a  desperate  struggle  around  the 
upper  turn  the  old  mare  gave  up  the  contest,  thor- 
oughly discouraged  and  beaten. 

"  The  stallion  came  away  from  her  with  tremendous 
power,  he  trotted  down  the  home-stretch  alone,  in  ad- 
vance of  all  his  competitors,  pulling  hard  for  his 
trainer  to  let  him  go  up  to  his  greatest  flight  of  speed, 
finishing  the  mile,  in  the  early  twilight,  in  2:17^,  and 
winning  the  most  remarkable  race,  taking  in  considera- 
tion his  obstacles  and  opposing  combinations,  ever  re- 
corded in  the  history  of  the  trotting-turf." 


A   HUKRIED   PKEPAKATION.  73 


CHAPTER  Y. 

THE      FEEE-FOE-ALL     BATTLES     DOWN     THE     LINE FEOM 

CLEVELAND    TO    SPRINGFIELD — GEEAT   EACE    AT    HAET- 

FOED — 1877     A    POOE    YEAE    FOE     SMFGGLEE TAKEN 

TO     CALIFOENIA — BEEAKS     DOWN     IN     THE     SPEING     OP 
1878  AND    SENT    HOME GOOD-BY   TO    SMUGGLEE. 

Feom  Cleveland  we  came  down  the  line  to  Buffalo, 
and  again  met  Goldsmith  Maid,  Judge  Fullerton, 
Bodine  and  Lucille  Golddast  in  the  free-for-all.  We 
met  them,  and  we  were  theirs.  The  perfectly  seasoned 
old  campaigner,  Goldsmith  Maid,  though  the  race  at 
Cleveland  was  a  hard  one  for  her,  had  quickly  rounded 
to,  and  was  that  da}^  as  good  a  mare  as  ever  she  Avas 
in  her  life,  trotting  three  heats  in  2:16,  2:15J,  2:15 — a 
performance  rarely  equaled  even  in  these  days.  On 
the  other  hand.  Smuggler  was  decidedly  off,  not  having 
recovered  from  the  Cleveland  race,  and  lacking  both  in 
vim  and  steadiness.  He  could  do  nothing  in  the  first 
heat,  and  in  the  first  half  of  the  second  made  a  stand- 
still break,  being  two  distances  out  before  he  settled 
again,  after  which  he  went  home  from  the  half-mile 
post  to  the  wire  in  1:0 7 J,  though  eased  up  when  the 
flag  fell  in  front  of  him.  Goldsmith  Maid  won  in 
straight  heats,  in  the  time  above  given,  and  was  again 
the  popular  idoL 

This  race  illustrates  a  point  in  training  that  every 


74:  TRAINING    THE    TKOTTING    HORSE. 

trainer  must  have  observed  many  times.  That  is,  that 
a  hurried  preparation  will  not  do  for  a  campaign, 
whatever  it  may  accomplish  for  a  race  or  two. 
Smuggler  had  been  blistered  the  previous  winter, 
and  had  been  given  no  work,  and  not  even  enough 
exercise  to  have  him  in  good  shape  to  begin  work. 
Therefore,  when  I  commenced  preparing  him  in  the 
spring  for  his  engagement  in  Philadelphia  in  May,  the 
time  was  too  short  for  gradual  and  proper  conditioning. 
So,  while  not  in  the  best  shape  to  receive  a  hurried 
preparation  he  had  to  have  it,  and  after  his  fast  per- 
formance at  Philadelphia,  and  that  hard  five-heat  battle 
at  Cleveland,  it  is  not  surprising  that  he  "  went  back" 
temporarily.  I  have  learned  both  by  experience  and 
by  observation  that,  while  you  can  sometimes  hur- 
riedly prepare  a  horse  and  get  him  up  to  pretty  keen 
edge  for  a  race  or  two,  he  will  likely  soon  fall  away 
from  his  best  form,  while  the  well-seasoned  ones  will 
go  on  getting  better,  if  raced  judiciously  throughout 
the  campaign.  To  fit  a  horse  for  a  campaign  in  which 
you  expect  to  keep  him  in  first-class  form,  week  after 
week,  the  preparation  must  be  gradual  and  thorough. 
The  horses  that  break  records  very  early  in  the  spring 
seldom  are  the  winners  of  the  first-class  summer  and 
fall  battles. 

At  Kochester,  a  week  after  the  Buffalo  race.  Smug- 
gler began  to  improve,  and  beat  Judge  FuUerton, 
Lucille  Golddust  and  Bodine  in  a  pretty  good  race. 
Goldsmith  Maid  not  starting.  Dan  Mace  got  into 
trouble  at  Buffalo,  and  was  under  expulsion,  so  that 
another  driver — Yoorhis — had  to  be  put  up  behind  Ful- 
lerton,  and  he  did  well  with  him,  but  Smuggler  won  in 


THE    HARTFORD    RACE.  75 

straight  heats  in  2:15|,  2:18,  2:19i,  Lucille  doing  the 
fio:htinof  in  the  last  heat,  while  Fullerton  had  trotted 
fast  and  honest  in  the  first  two  heats,  being  only 
beaten  about  three  lengths  in  the  2:15f  heat,^nd  right 
on  Smuggler's  wheel  in  the  next  in  2:18.  We  did  not 
start  at  Utica  the  following  week,  and  Goldsmith  Maid 
easily  beat  the  same  field  Smuggler  had  to  defeat  at 
Rochester,  she  not  having  to  go  better  than  2:18^  to 
do  it. 

^ext  came  the  great  free-for-all  a.t  Hartford, 
August  31,  1876,  a  contest  rivaling  in  importance  and 
result  the  memorable  one  at  Cleveland  a  few  weeks 
earlier.  The  four  competitors  at  Hartford  were  also 
in  the  Cleveland  race  when  Smuggler  won,  and  from 
that  point  down  there  had  been  nothing  to  decisively 
settle  the  question  of  superiority  between  Smuggler 
and  the  Maid,  and  it  was  indeed  one  on  which  turfmen 
were  greatlv  divided.  It  was  expected  that  the  con- 
test at  Hartford  would  settle  the  question,  and  when 
Goldsmith  Maid,  Smuggler,  Bodine  and  Judge  Fuller- 
ton  answered  the  judges^  bell  for  the  free-for-all,  ex- 
citement and  feeling  ran  high.  The  expectations  of 
the  crowed  ran  high  too,  but  still  had  any  one  foretold 
a  six-heat  race  wherein  the  stallion  record  w^ould  be 
broken,  and  every  heat  would  be  trotted  better  than 
2:20,  he  would  probably  have  been  jeered  at. 

The  Maid,  as  usual,  with  that  hop-skip-and  jump  trick 
of  hers,  got  away  first  in  the  initial  heat,  but  Fullerton 
went  from  the  wire  with  the  quarter  horse  rush  of 
which  he  seemed  always  capable  at  the  start,  and  when 
he  reached  the  quarter  at  a  2:12  gait  he  was  well  clear 
of  Goldsmith  Maid  who  led  Smuggler  and  Bodine  by 


76  TRAINING  THE  TROTTING  HORSE. 

a  length  or  so.  Still  Fullerton  kept  his  terrific  clip  and 
passed  the  half  at  a  record-breaking  pace,  the  Maid 
close  up  and  leading  Smuggler  who  was  just  getting 
under  proper  headway.  Fullerton  and  the  Maid  raced 
in  double  team  fashion  to  the  turn,  with  Smuggler  now 
getting  right  up  with  them.  Fullerton  was  the  first 
to  w^eaken,  Doble  sending  the  Maid  by  him  under  the 
whip,  but  half-way  between  the  distance  flag  and  the 
wire  Smuggler  nailed  her,  and  beat  her  home  b}^  about 
a  length  in  2:15^ — the  fastest  heat  ever  trotted  by  a 
stallion  up  to  that  day. 

In  the  second  heat  Smuggler  got  an  even  start,  and 
the  rest  had  a  stern  chase  from  wire  to  wire,  the  time 
being  2:17. 

In  this  race  the  judges  allowed  Doble  to  score  most 
unfairly  with  his  great  mare,  and  she  had  no  equal  in 
wearing  her  opponents  out  on  the  score,  they  trotting 
and  she  skipping  and  relieving  herself.  Tired  of  this- 
I  nodded  for  the  word  somewhat  back  at  tlie  fourth 
score  in  the  third  heat,  believing  that  it  was,  if  any- 
thing, better  to  take  the  chances  of  a  bad  start  than 
to  submit  the  horse  to  the  tiresome  scoring  in  which 
the  judges  showed  no  inclination  to  protect  him. 
Smuggler,  however,  got  up  to  the  mare  in  the  stretch 
(she  having,  in  the  meantime,  helped  herself  by  re- 
peated skips,  or  rather  gaining  breaks),  and  just  out- 
finished  her  in  2:16f .  The  best  judges  (including  the 
representatives  of  the  Spirit  of  the  Times  and  Turf^ 
Field  andFcmn\  who  were  so  directly  at  the  wire  as 
to  be  in  a  position  to  judge,  delared  that  Smuggler's 
white  nose  crossed  the  wire  first,  but  even  if  they  had 
crossed  perfectly  even  he  should   have  had  the  heat 


UNFAIR   JUDGING.  77 

under  the  trotting  rules,  for  he  trotted  it  honestl}^ 
without  a  skip  or  break  which  she  did  not,  to  say 
nothing  of  her  two  or  three  lengths  advantage  at  the 
start. 

Smuofo-ler  was  now  a  very  tired  horse,  the  three  fast 
fighting  heats,  with  the  great  weight  he  carried  on  his 
feet,  leaving  him  thoroughly  leg-weary.  We  now  re- 
moved the  four-ounce  toe-weights  to  partially  relieve 
him,  but  in  the  fourth  heat  he  was  beaten  after  a  o^ood 
struggle  in  2:17^,  and  he  again  contended  gamely  in 
the  fifth  heat  which  was  won  in  2:18,  but  in  the  sixth 
heat  a  standstill  break  very  nearly  left  him  outside 
the  flag  in  2:19f.  Smuggler  did  not  get  first  money 
that  day,  but  it  was  a  race  in  which  he  gained  honors 
equal  with  the  winner,  and  there  was  at  least  as  much 
difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  question  of  superiority 
after  the  race  as  there  was  before  it. 

In  consequence  of  criticisms  of  my  asking  for  the 
word  in  the  third  heat  when  not  on  even  terms, 
Colonel  Russell  wrote  the  following  letter,  which 
speaks  for  itself : 

Home  Farm,  Milton,  Mass.,  ) 
September  11,  1876.  f 
As  most  of  the  papers,  whilst  saying  that  Smuggler 
was  faii'ly  entitled  to  the  Hartford  race,  blame  his 
driver,  Charles  Marvin,  for  asking  for  the  word  when 
some  lengths  behind  Goldsmith  Maid,  I  deem  it  only 
my  duty  to  a  man  who  has  served  me  most  faithfully 
to  explain  that  his  reason  for  acting  as  he  did  was  the 
simple  fact  that  the  judges  allowed,  and  showed  no  dispo- 
sition to  prevent,  the  most  unfair  scoring  on  the  part  of 
the  Maid.  Xo  one  who  saw  it  will  deny  that  she 
was  allowed  to  act  just  as  seemed  best  for  her  own 


78  TRAINING    THE    TKOTTINa    HORSE. 

interests,  irrespective  of  the  good  of  others.  Mr. 
Marvin  preferred  a  bad  start  to  the  chance  of  his 
horse  becoming  fractious  from  the  ill-usage  which  the 
judges  showed  no  spirit  to  prevent,  and  I,  for  one, 
entirely  indorse  his  action  as  the  only  wa}^  in  which  he 
could  protect  my  interests  after  being  deserted  by 
those  to  whom  had  been  entrusted  a  fair  deal  to  all. 

Furthermore,  I  will  trot  Smuggler  three  races 
against  any  horse,  mare  or  gelding,  for  stake,  purse, 
gate-money  or  charity,  over  such  tracks  as  may  be  to 
the  advantage  of  both  parties ;  or  I  will  trot  him 
against  any  combination,  a  fresh  horse  to  start  against 
him  in  each  heat,  and  all  heats  won  by  different  horses 
in  such  combination  to  be  counted  as  if  won  by  a  single 
horse  in  an  ordinary  race. 

Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

Henry  S.  Russell. 

The  remaining  performances  of  Smuggler  can  be 
summed  up  in  few  words.  A  week  following  he 
started  at  Springfield,  but  was  not  at  all  himself,  the 
Maid  winning  easily.  Then  we  took  him  to  Bangor 
and  gave  an  exhibition  performance  against  time,  which 
was  followed  by  a  match  race  against  Judge  Fullerton, 
at  Mystic  Park,  Boston,  October  2d,  which  Smuggler 
won.  The  next  week  we  again  trotted  him  a  winning 
race  against  Fullerton,  this  time  at  Dover,  Xew  Hamp- 
shire, over  a  very  heavy  and  deep  track.  In  this  race 
he  injured  his  hip,  and  never  was  quite  himself  again. 
October  16th,  in  an  unimportant  match,  or  rather  ex- 
hibition, Great  Easterit  won  in  slow  time,  and  ten  days 
later  he  trotted  in  the  free-for-all  at  Fleetwood  Park, 
Kew  York,  which  was  won  by  Rarus,  then  just  coming 
into  prominence. 

In  1877  Smuggler  did  not  come  back  to  his  old  form, 


THE    CLOSE    OF   A    BRILLIA^'T   CAEEER.  79 

and  only  started  twice,  defeating  Great  Eastern  in  a 
four-heat  race  in  June  at  Boston,  and  bein^  defeated 
by  Hopeful  in  Jul3\ 

It  was  Colonel  Eussell's  desire  to  give  Smuggler  a 
faster  record,  and  in  November,  ISTT,  we  started  for 
California,  to  give  him  the  benefit  of  this  genial  climate. 
But  the  most  carefully  designed  plans  do  not  always 
succeed.  Smuggler  had  a  suspicious  leg  as  early  as 
1ST6,  and  it  interfered  with  his  preparation  in  1877. 
"We  arrived  at  Bay  District  track,  San  Francisco,  Xo- 
V ember  14th,  and  prepared  winter  quarters.  Through 
,ne  winter  I  worked  Smuggler  very  "gingerly,"  but  it 
^.oon  became  apparent  that  the  great  horse  could  never 
race  again,  and  in  April,  1878,  he  finally  broke  down 
and  WcJ  shipped  home.  Shortly  afterward  Colonel 
Kussell  sold  him  to  AV.  H.  Wilson,  of  Cynthiana;  and 
after  being  denounced  as  a  complete  failure  in  the 
stud  and  sold  for  a  song,  he  has  at  last  shown  that  he 
can  sire  trotters,  and  I  believe  his  services  are  now 
sought  at  a  high  price  at  the  stock-farm  of  F.  G.  Bab- 
cock,  Horn  ells  vi  lie,  Xew  York. 

I  make  no  apology  for  takmg  up  a  good  share  of 
space  in  giving  a  history  of  Smuggler.  Whether  he 
owes  much  of  his  fame  as  a  great  turf-horse  to  me  or 
not  we  will  let  pass,  but  I  certainly  owe  much  to  him, 
and  the  cha])ter  or  two  of  which  he  is  the  hero  is  only 
just  acknowledgment  from  his  old  driver.  In  esti- 
mating his  merits  as  a  race-horse  the  truthful  histo- 
rians of  the  future  will  always  record  that  "there 
were  giants  in  those  days,"  and  that  he  battled  with 
the  giants  and  more  than  held  his  own. 

Though  he  has  yet  no  son  or  daughter  as  great  as 


80  TKAININa    THE    TKOTTING    HORSE. 

himself,  his  progeny  are  b}^  no  means  a  degenerate 
race,  and  among  them  are  winners  of  high  merit. 

Smuggler  was  in  man^^  respects  a  horse  whose  equal 
I  have  not  seen  nor  ever  expect  to  see.  Though  his  hock 
action  was  not  as  free  and  exuberant  as  it  might  have 
been,  he  had  a  beautiful  roll  of  the  knee  in  motion,  and 
his  gait  was  direct  and  good.  He  went  away  easy  and 
frictionlesslv,  and  had  abundance  of  vim  and  courage. 
Could  he  have  been  balanced  with  light  shoes,  he  would 
no  doubt  have  been  a  faster  horse  and  a  steadier  one. 
As  it  was,  carrying  his  two-pound  shoes  it  is  not  to  be 
w^ondered  at  that  he  sometimes  '^tangled  "  badly  ;  that 
in  long  drawn  out  races  he  had  to  contend  with  un- 
usual leg- weariness ;  that  for  these  reasons  he  was  some- 
what unreliable,  and  that  he  did  not  always  as  quickly 
recover  from  a  hard  race  as  did  those  whose  gait  was 
less  a  matter  of  acquirement,  and  who  did  not  require 
such  weight  to  balance  them.  He  was  a  game  and 
resolute  horse,  and  no  man  ever  saw  a  trotter  that 
would  do  more  on  his  courao^e  in  a  fio:htino^  finish  than 
Smuggler. 

I  last  saw  the  grand  old  horse  on  the  5th  of  April, 
1878,  the  day  he  was  taken  East  from  the  Bay  District 
track. 


PALO   ALTO   AND   ITS   FOUNDEE.  81 


CHAPTER  YI. 

FIEST  VISIT  TO  PALO  ALTO — SKETCH  OF  ITS  ILLUSTRIOUS 
FOUNDER  AND  PROPRIETOR,  LELAND  STANFORD — HIS 
GENIUS    AS    A    HORSEMAN,    HIS    PURE    CHARACTER,    AND 

HIS    MUNIFICENT    CHARITIES THE     HISTORY     OF    PALO 

ALTO    IN    BRIEF    OUTLINE A     SCIENTIFIC     DEMONSTRA- 
TION   OF   THE    POSITIONS    OF    ANIMALS    IN    MOTION. 

Among  the  horses  in  my  stable  at  the  Bay  District 
track  during  the  winter  of  1878  was  Gen.  Benton, 
that  had  just  been  brought  from  Xew  York  State,  by 
Governor  Leland  Stanford,  to  his  farm  at  Palo  Alto. 
He  was  sent  to  me  to  work  during  the  winter,  and  a 
day  or  two  after  Smuggler  went  away,  Gen.  Benton 
was  taken  down  to  the  ranch  in  the  Santa  Clara  Yalley, 
and  it  so  happened  that  I  went  with  him.  The  result 
was,  that  "the  Governor,"  as  all  conditions  of  people 
in  California  delight  to  call  him,  engaged  me  to  train 
the  horses  at  Palo  Alto,  on  trial.  I  came  here  April 
10,  1878,  and  as  the  reader  now  knows  am  here  still, 
and  now  endeavoring  to  tell  what  I  have  learned  from 
twelve  years  work  and  experience,  and  I  might  add 
experiment,  on  the  largest  horse-breeding  and  training 
farm  m  the  world. 

For  obvious  reasons,  this  book  would  be  incomplete 
without  some  sketch  of  world-famous  Palo  Alto  and 
its  renowned  founder.  Senator  Leland  Stanford,  and 


82  TRAINING   THE   TROTTING    HORSE. 

we  will  devote  this  chapter  to  that  purpose  as  an 
appropriate  preface  to  what  follows,  concerning  the 
achievements  of  its  horses,  and  the  exposition  of  the 
S3^steiu  of  training  that  pertains  peculiarly  to  Palo 
Alto. 

The  story  of  Leland  Stanford  is  too  eminently  a 
matter  of  common  history  to  call  for  recapitulation, 
except  in  the  briefest  manner  here.  In  the  history  of 
the  development  of  California  —  and,  indeed,  of  the 
whole  farther  West,  for  who  can  estimate  what  the 
Central  Pacific  Kailway  has  done  ? — his  name  will  go 
down  as  that  of  a  master  spirit  just  as  it  will  in  the 
small  sphere  of  development  of  the  national  American 
horse — the  trotter.  The  following  sketch,  by  a  Cali- 
fornian  writer,  of  the  proprietor  of  Palo  Alto,  is  a 
concise  and  brief  biography  which  will  interest  every 
reader :  "  Leland  Stanford  was  born  in  Albany  County, 
l^ew  York,  on  the  9th  day  of  March,  1S24:.  The  alter- 
nation of  work  upon  the  homestead  farm,  with  study 
at  a  neighboring  school,  after  the  manner  of  the  sons 
of  intelligent  and  thrifty  farmers  in  those  days,  con- 
tributed to  give  him  that  well-balanced  mind,  keen 
perception  and  perfect  equipoise  of  faculties  for  which 
he  has  ever  been  distinguished.  Endowed  by  nature 
with  a  powerful  physical  organization,  he  was,  in 
youth,  somewhat  impatient  of  purely  scholastic  methods, 
which  imposed  too  much  in-door  constraint  upon  a 
mind  linked  to  a  body  full  of  vigorous  life,  which 
demanded  a  lartre  deo^ree  of  freedom  and  exercise  in 
the  open  air.  But  this  very  impatience  of  confinement 
threw  wide  open  to  him  the  book  of  nature,  laid  the 
foundation  for  an   enthusiastic  love  of   the  natural 


83 

sciences,  and  made  him  a  keen   and  discriminatino- 
observer  of  material  things ;  a  kind  of  education  well 
adapted  to  fit  him  for  the  great  enterprises  and  the 
high  and  responsible  trusts  in  which  he   has  distin- 
guished himself.     At  twenty  years  of  age,  with  such 
education  as  he  had  gathered  by  this  somewhat  desul- 
tory method,  he  determined  upon  the  study  of  the  law, 
and  entered  the  office  of  ]Vressrs.  Wheaton,  Doolittle  & 
Hadley,  an  eminent  law  firm  in  the  city  of  Albany,  in 
the   year  1845.     Having   completed    his   studies,  and 
been  admitted  to  the  bar,  he  resolved  to  seek  in  the 
AYest  a  field  for  his   future   ])rofessional  labors,  and 
finally  settled  at  Port  AVashington,  Wisconsin,  in  1848. 
Two  years  afterward  he  returned  to  Alb  my  and  was 
there  married  to  a  most  estimable  young  lady,  Miss 
Jane  Lathrop,  daughter  of  Dyer  Lathrop,  a  merchant 
and  one  of  the  most  respected  citizens  of  Albany.    His 
professional  career  in  his  Wisconsin  home  was  of  brief 
duration.     While  practicing  law  at  Port  Washington, 
a  circumstance  transpired  which  some  will  regard  as 
providential,  giving  an  entirely  new  direction  to  his 
thoughts  and  energies.   A  fire  occurred  which  destroyed 
his  law  library  and  swept  away  nearly  all  his  worldly 
possessions.     The  loss  was  severe,  and  to  one  possess- 
ing less  self-reliance  would  have  been  disheartening. 
It  served,  however,  its  purpose,  and  the  result  was,  a 
determination  on  his  part  to  join  his  brothers,  who  had 
already  emigrated  to  California.     He  reached  this  State 
on  the  12th  day  of  July,  1852,  and  found  his  brothers 
engaged  in  mining  and  trade.     Without  any  practical 
knowledge  of  either  of  these  occupations,  Mr.  Stanford 
determined,  for  the  time,  to  abandon  the  practice  of 


84:  TRAINING   THE   TROTTING    HORSE. 

the  law  and  engage  in  business  witli  his  brothers. 
After  prospecting  at  various  points  he  finally  settled 
at  Michigan  Bluff,  in  the  famous  mining  county  of 
Placer,  wliere  he  remained  nearly  four  years  conduct- 
ing, in  a  very  successful  manner,  the  business  in  which 
lie  was  engaged,  and  making  a  host  of  friends  among 
the  hardy  pioneers  and  miners  who  were  his  principal 
patrons.  In  1S56,  he  removed  to  Sacramento,  and,  as 
a  partner,  became  actively  engaged  in  the  mercantile 
house  established  by  his  brothers  whose  business  had 
grown  to  large  proportions,  they  being  extensively 
engaged  in  importing,  and  having  branch  houses 
scattered  through  the  State.  The  magnitude  of  the 
firm's  transactions,  the  multifarious  knowledge  de- 
manded and  the  natural  aptitude  of  Mr.  Stanford's 
mind  for  the  administration  of  affairs  of  importance, 
all  combined  to  develop  and  enlarge  those  extraordi- 
nary powers  of  observation  and  generalization  which 
were  subsequently  displayed  in  the  execution  of  the 
gigantic  railwa}^  projects  which  he  undertook  and 
carried  through  with  such  energy  and  success.  At  the 
breaking  out  of  the  civil  war,  Mr.  Stanford  was  a  most 
pronounced  friend  of  the  Union.  He  was  chosen  a 
delegate  to  the  Chicago  Convention  in  1860,  and  voted 
for  Abraham  Lincoln  as  the  Republican  candidate  for 
the  Presidency.  The  acquaintance  which  he  there 
made  with  Mr.  Lincoln  ripened  into  intimacy  and  con- 
fidence, and  Mr.  Stanford  spent  many  weeks  at  Wash- 
ington after  the  inauguration,  and  became  the  trusted 
adviser  of  the  President  and  his  cabinet  in  regard  to 
the  appointments  for  the  Pacific  coast.  It  is  not 
one  of  the  least  of  Mr.  Stanford's  honors,   that  in 


UNITED    STATES  SENATOR.  85 

the  perilous  crisis  of  affairs  which  occurred  in  1860, 
when  Cahfornia  was  in  danger  of  following  the  bad 
example  of 'the  South,  Mr.  Lincoln  and  Mr.  Seward 
regarded  him  as  the  ablest  and  most  rehable  friend  of 
the  government  in  tfiis  State,  and  deferred  to  his 
opinion  accordingly.  In  1861,  Mr.  Stanford,  contrary 
to  his  wishes,  w^as  nominated  by  the  Republican  party 
for  Governor  of  California,  and,  while  he  sought  no 
political  preferment,  he  deemed  it  his  duty,  in  the  dis- 
turbed state  of  affairs,  to  sacrifice  his  own  wishes  to 
the  welfare  of  the  State  and  nation.  He,  accordingly, 
entered  actively  into  the  canvass  and  was  elected  by  a 
plurahty  of  23,000  votes.  The  period  was  one  of  unex- 
ampled difficulty  of  administration,  but  Governor  Stan- 
ford was  equal  to  all  the  demands  made  upon  him,  and, 
however  great  his  achievements,  he  never  seemed  to 
have  exhausted  his  resources  or  to  have  reached  his  full 
possibilities.  His  messages,  and  indeed  all  his  State 
papers,  were  characterized  by  sound  common  sense  and 
a  comprehensive  grasp  of  State  and  national  affairs, 
remarkable  in  one  who  had  never  before  held  office 
under  either  the  State  or  national  government.  At  the 
close  of  his  term  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  leaving  the 
chair  of  state,  feeling  that  no  State  of  the  Union  was 
more  thoroughly  loyal  than  California. 

"  Governor  Stanford  was  urged  to  accept  a  renomina- 
tion,  but  being  then  thoroughly  engrossed  in  the  con- 
struction of  the  great  transcontinental  railway,  and 
feeling  that  the  crisis  in  the  history  of  the  State  which 
had  compelled  his  acceptance  in  the  first  instance  was 
now  passed,  he  declined  the  proffered  honor.  At  the 
last  regular  session  of  our^  State  Legislature,  he  was 


86  TRAINING    THE    TKO'lTING    HORSE. 

elected  United  States  Senator,  which  high  position  he 
has  since  filled  with  marked  ability  and  to  the  entire 
satisfaction  of  the  people.  His  establishment  and  en- 
dowment of  the  great  Leland  Stanford  Junior  Uni- 
versity, Avhich  bears  the  name  of  his  lamented  son,  will 
go  down  to  history  as  an  act  unparalled  in  the  annals 
of  public  benefactions,  and  his  memory  will  ever  be 
cherished  in  the  hearts  of  a  grateful  people." 

Governor  Stanford  has  done,  by  grand  example,  at 
least  as  much  as  any  man  living  to  elevate  the  horse- 
breeding  interest,  and  clothe  it  in  that  respectability 
which  by  right  it  should  wear.  Passionately  fond  of 
horses,  he  is  naturally  a  good  judge  of  them.  He  is, 
indeed,  the  best  judge  of  form  and  of  the  proper  con- 
formation for  speed  that  I  have  ever  known.  By  a 
sort  of  instinct  he  discerns  the  undeveloped  merit  that 
the  most  of  us  do  not  recognize  until  it  is  demonstrated. 
The  matter  of  disposition  and  temperament  he  has 
made  a  study  of,  perhaps  to  a  greater  degree  than  the 
matter  of  form,  and  his  success  as  a  breeder,  and  es- 
pecially his  success  in  matmg  thoroughbred-mares  with 
trotting  stallions,  is  due  in  no  small  degree  to  his 
intuitive  analysis  of  temperament,  and  careful  dis- 
crimination in  blending  blood  with  regard  to  mental 
as  well  as  to  physical  qualities.  Not  only  is  "the 
Governor  "  an  adept  in  judging  of  individual  qualities 
in  horses,  and  of  valuing  blood,  but  his  ideas  on  train- 
ing have  to  a  certain  degree  revolutionized  that  art. 
He  is,  as  all  the  world  knows — and  as  the  reader  of  this 
book  will  better  appreciate  a  little  further  on — the 
father  of  the  Palo  Alto  system  of  training.  That 
system  is  the  outgrowth  jpf  an  idea  of  which  he  was 


THE   NEW    IDEA    OF    TKAINIXG.  87 

the  author.  He  believed  that  the  way  to  develop  the 
highest  rate  of  speed  was  to  work  horses  fast  for  short 
distances,  and  out  of  that  idea  a  new  system  of  train- 
ing has  evolved  which  has  given  the  world  the 
majority  of  fast  records  for  young  horses.  None  of 
the  old  trainers  would  entertain  the  idea — old  trainers 
are  not  in  the  habit  of  listening  to  anything  that  seems 
averse  to  their  practices — but  in  the  yearling  record  of 
Norlaine,  the  two-year-old  and  three-year-old  records 
of  Sunol,  the  four-year-old  record  of  Manzanita,  the 
record  of  Palo  Alto,  and  many  other  brilliant  achieve- 
ments we  see  the  triumph  of  an  idea. 

As  a  man  Governor  Stanford  is  admired,  or  rather  I 
should  say  loved,  the  most  by  those  who  know  him 
best — who  have  been  brought  near  to  him  in  every- 
day life.  With  his  employes  he  is  just  and  consider- 
ate. Many  a  well-meaning  man  is  in  the  wrong  while 
he  is  trying  to  do  right,  and  in  such  a  case  "the 
Governor"  has  the  rare  faculty  of  showing  him  the 
error  of  his  ways  effectively,  but  without  hurting  even 
the  most  sensitive  feelings.  A  man's  faults  or  mistakes 
he  will  not  parade  in  the  hearing  of  others;  and  while 
appreciative  of  good  men  will  not  tolerate  worthless 
ones.  The  great  charities  of  Governor  and  Mrs.  Stan- 
ford are  known  from  California  to  Maine.  The  grand 
"Leland  Stanford  Junior  University,"  to  build  and 
endow  which  the  greater  portion  of  his  many  millions 
will  go,  is  a  gift  to  the  people  that  can  never  be  for- 
gotten, and  one  that  will  carry  down  to  future  genera- 
tions the  memory  of  those  who  bestowed  it.  The  sums 
given  monthly  "for  sweet  charity's  sake"  by  Mrs. 
Stanford   run   high    up   into    the    thousands,   besides 


88  TRAINING    THE   TROTTING    HORSE. 

which  she  maintains  numerous  schools  and  kinder- 
gartens, where  the  children  of  the  poor  may  be  trained 
for  the  battle  of  life. 

The  lands  owned  by  Governor  Stanford  include  the 
Palo  Alto  Farm  of  11,000  acres,  devoted  to  the  trotting- 
and  running-horse  departments,  besides  the  beautiful 
park  and  residence  grounds,  vineyards,  etc.;  the  Yma 
Ranch,  on  the  Sacramento  Eiver,  of  55,000  acres,  sev- 
eral thousand  of  which  are  in  vineyards  where  the 
finest  varieties  of  wine  grapes,  such  as  the  Zinfandel 
and  Charbonneau,  are  abundantly  grown;  and  the 
Gridley  Eanch,  in  Butte  County,  of  17,000  acres, 
principally  devoted  to  wheat  growing.  All  these  lands 
are  given  to  the  Leland  Stanford  Junior  University 
in  the  grant  founding  and  endowing  that  noble  institu- 
tion, which  is  now  being  built  at  Palo  Alto,'  and  which 
will  cost  millions  to  complete. 

The  Palo  Alto  farm  lies  partly  in  Santa  Clara  and 
partly  in  San  Mateo  Counties,  in  the  beautiful  Santa 
Clara  Yalley,  a  spot  almost  unrivaled  among  all  the 
gardens  of  the  earth.  This  fruitful  valley,  where  the 
air  is  tempered  by  the  breezes  from  San  Francisco  Bay, 
is  at  least  the  equal  of  any  favored  region  of  the  Pacific 
Coast  in  its  natural  advantages;  and  wealth  and  enter- 
prise have  done  perhaps  more  for  it  than  for  any  other 
spot  w4iere  Pacific  breezes  blow.  Part  of  the  Palo 
Alto  farm  adjoins  the  little  town  of  Menlo  Park,  on 
the  Southern  Pacific  Bail  way,  an  hour's  ride  from  San 
Francisco.  The  farm  lies  nearly  all  between  an  arm 
of  San  Francisco  Bay  on  the  east,  and  the  Southern 
Pacific  Railway  on  the  west,  and  is  chiefly  level,  the 
western  limits  running  into  the  foothills  of  the  Coast 


THE    PALO    ALTO    FARM.  89 

Eange  of  Mountains,  the  ocean  being  only  thirty-five 
miles  distant. 

I  came  to  Palo  Alto  when  it  was  new  and  crude — 
the  first  of  the  tracts  that  form  the  Palo  Alto  of  to-day 
■only  having  been  purchased  in  1876 — and  from  that 
day  to  this  the  work  of  improving  and  building  has 
never  ceased,  until  little  either  in  the  way  of  useful- 
ness or  ornamentation  seems  to  be  desired.  AYhile  he 
who  has  an  eye  to  the  practical  alone  can  see  at  Palo 
Alto  every  facility  and  every  improvement  for  the 
accomplishment  of  practical  ends,  the  lover  of  nature's 
beauties  can  breathe  the  purest  air,  enjoy  the  brightest 
sunlight  and  feast  his  eyes  on  the  greenest  of  land- 
scapes beautified  with  trees  and  shrubbery  from  every 
clime. 

When  I  beo^an  work  at  the  new  farm  the  track  was 
just  being  built,  new  buildings  were  hardiv  yet 
planned,  there  was  only  about  a  dozen  men  employed 
on  the  farm,  and  the  stud  consisted  of  Electioneer, 
Gen.  Benton,  old  Mohawk  Chief  and  about  twenty  to 
twenty-five  brood-mares.  I  little  thought  that  this 
begfinnino:  would  even,  under  the  stimulus  of  Governor 
Stanford's  limitless  enterprise  and  capital,  grow  into 
the  most  extensive  trotting-horse  breeding  and  training 
establishment  in  the  world.  Speaking  of  its  dimen- 
sions, and  of  the  scale  on  which  the  breeding  and 
training  of  horses  is  conducted  here,  a  writer  recently 
said  : 

"  The  writer,  who  is  accustomed  to  take  the  measure 
of  a  stock-farm  in  a  day  and  review  it  with  a  fair 
degree  of  comprehensiveness  in  a  single  article,  finds 
himself  in  deep  water  at  Palo  Alto.     My  first  impres- 


90  TRAINING    THE    TROTTINa    HORSE. 

sion  of  Palo  Alto  was,  that  if  one  spent  a  month 
industriously  here  he  might,  at  the  end  of  that  time, 
have  a  fair  and  intelligent  conception  of  the  trotting 
department  of  the  great  establishment  in  all  its  details. 
To-day,  after  devoting  two  months  to  the  subject,  I  am 
sure  that  my  first  estimate  was  under  the  mark,  and 
that  I  have  not  yet  seen  all  that  can  profitably  be  seen, 
nor  learned  all  that  any  intelligent  horseman  can 
learn.  An  establishment  where  any  one  of  tlie  several 
training  stables  equals  the  training  de])artment  of  any 
ordinary  large  stock-farm,  and  where  from  seventy  to 
eighty  trotting-horses  are  daily  in  training — where 
upward  of  twenty  stallions  are  used  more  or  less,  and 
where  the  trotting-harem  numbers  upward  of  300 
matrons — such  an  establishment  is  not  to  be  intelli- 
gently inspected  in  a  day  or  a  week.  I  have  seen  the 
principal  stock-farms  of  America,  and  it  is  easy  to  say 
that  no  two  or  three  of  them  rolled  into  one  would 
duplicate  Palo  Alto ;  but  saying  so  does  not  adequately 
convey  an  idea  of  the  scale  on  w4iich  Governor  Stan- 
ford's 'nursery  of  trotters'  is  conducted.  In  the 
extent  of  his  enterprise,  as  w^ell  as  in  some  other 
respects.  Governor  Stanford  is  easily  the  first  trotting- 
horse  breeder  in  the  world." 

Mohawk  Chief  was  purchased  in  1875  b}^  Governor 
Stanford,  in  'New  York,  and  brought  to  Sacramento. 
He  was  a  son  of  Pj^sdj^k's  Hambletonian,  a  horse  of 
fine  proportions  and  style,  but  he  has  proved  a  failure 
as  a  sire  of  trotters,  though  some  of  his  daughters  have 
produced  well,  notably  Sontag  Mohawk,  the  dam  of  the 
great  mare  Sally  Benton,  2:17$,  Sport,  2:22f ,  Eros,  2:29^, 
etc.     Then,  in  1876,  the  young  son  of  Hambletonian 


< 

O 

< 
O 

< 

o 


> 


THE    FOUNDATION    BLOOD.  91 

that  is  now  known  world-wide  as  the  great  Electioneer 
came,  and,  in  1S77,  Gen.  Benton  followed.  In  1883,  the 
famous  campaigner  Piedmont,  2:1  Tf,  son  of  Almont, 
was  purchased,  and  a  few  years  ago  Xephew,  son  of 
Hambrino,  2:21^,  joined  Electioneer,  Piedmont  and 
Gen.  Benton  to  complete  the  quartette  of  famous 
Palo  Alto  sires.  At  different  times  lots  of  brood- 
mares were  brought  from  the  East,  and  others  had 
been  purchased  in  California,  until,  with  the  natural 
increment,  the  brood-mares  now  number  about  300. 
The  most  famous  of  the  mares  imported  from  the 
East  are  Elaine,  2:20,  by  Messenger  Duroc,  out  of 
Green  Mountain  Maid,  Electioneers  dam;  Sontag 
Mohawk,  the  dam  of  Sally  Benton  ;  ^orma,  the  dam 
of  [N'orval,  2:17i;  Lady  Thorn  Jr.,  the  dam  of  Santa 
Glaus.  2:17i-;  Sprite,  by  Belmont,  out  of  the  great 
mare  Waterwitch;  Gazelle,  2:21,  by  Hambleton- 
ian,  out  of  Hattie  Wood,  by  Harry  Clay  ;  the  noted 
trotting -mares  Lula,  2:15,  and  May  Queen,  2:20, 
Lucy,  2:1-1,  the  great  white  pacer,  and  many  other 
Eastern  mares  of  note.  Among  those  of  Californian 
origin  that  were  brought  to  Palo  Alto  were  Beautiful 
Bells  (the  greatest  dam  of  trotters,  age  considered, 
that  ever  lived),  by  The  Moor,  out  of  Minnehaha,  also 
a  famous  producer ;  Addie,  the  dam  of  Manon,  2:21, 
and  AYoodnut,  2:16^;  Aurora,  2:27,  by  John  JS^elson  ; 
Columbine,  the  dam  of  Antevolo,  2:19^,  and  Anteo, 
2:164;  Mayflower,  2:30^,  the  dam  of  Manzanita,  2:16, 
and  Wildflower,  2:21 ;  and  May  Fly,  2:30^,  the  dam 
of  Bonita,  2:1 8^. 

In  this  chapter  I  only  propose  to  outline  the  found- 
ing and  history  of  Palo  Alto,  but  later  on  in  the  book 


92  TRAINING   THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 

I  will  devote  a  chapter  to  some  of  the  great  horses  of 
Palo  Alto,  giving  some  sketch  of  each  in  detail.  In 
like  manner  I  will  outline  the  campaigns  of  the  Palo 
Alto  horses,  and  in  following  chapters  will  give  full 
particulars  of  the  training  and  trotting  of  those  that 
proved  stars  on  the  turf. 

The  thoroughbred  department  at  Palo  Alto  is  kept 
entirely  separate  from  the  trotting  department,  the 
stables,  track,  etc.,  being  located  about  two  miles  east 
of  the  trotting  headquarters.  The  most  noted  sires 
there  are  Flood  and  Shannon,  and  among  the  best 
mares  in  the  stud  are  imported  Flirt,  dam  of  the  good 
race-mare  Gorgo  and  of  Faustine;  imported  Fairy 
Rose,  dam  of  Shannon  Rose;  Glendew,  the  dam  of 
Guenn  and  Geoffrey  ;  Lady  Evangeline,  dam  of  Flood- 
tide,  and  other  mares  of  the  richest  racing-blood  of 
America  and  England.  The  superintendent  and 
trainer  of  the  thoroughbred  department  is  Mr.  Henry 
Walsh. 

The  business  management  of  Palo  Alto  has  been  for 
years  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  Ariel  Lathrop,  who  has 
general  charge  and  direction  of  all  Governor  Stanford's 
vast  financial  interests,  and  the  mere  mention  of  this 
fact  is  sufficient  evidence  of  Mr.  Lathrop's  business 
capacity  and  upright  character. 

The  illustration  and  the  diagram  on  the  opposite 
page  will  give  an  idea  of  what  the  trotting  department 
at  Palo  Alto  is  to-day.  The  reader  will  better  under- 
stand the  establishment  by  a  comparison  of  the  photo- 
graphic view  and  the  diagram,  noting  that  the  former 
was  taken,  looking  northwest,  from  a  point  approxi- 
mated by  the  star  in  the  left  lower  section  of  the 
diagram,  somewhat  to  the  left  of  the  center. 


94:  TRAINING    THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 

In  order  to  accommodate  it  to  the  size  of  this  work 
the  diagram  had  to  be  drawn  on  a  very  small  scale, 
and  this  must  be  remembered  by  the  reader  who 
tries  to  form  a  conception  of  the  magnitude  of  the 
establishment.  It  will  be  noticed  that  there  is  a 
mile  and  a  three-quarter  mile  track,  an  open  training 
paddock  about  one  tenth  of  a  mile  in  circumference, 
and  a  covered  one  about  one  -  sixteenth  of  a  mile 
around.  These  as  well  as  the  other  training  appli- 
ances will  be  fully  described  and  discussed  in  the 
proper  place  We  have  generally  about  seventy  colts 
and  horses  in  training  at  Palo  Alto,  there  being  always 
six  to  seven  assistant  trainers.  In  all  about  eighty  men 
are  employed  on  trotters,  not  including  the  blacksmiths, 
harness-makers,  etc.,  farmers  or  Chinese  laborers. 

J^o  sketch  of  Palo  Alto  would  be  complete  witljout 
some  reference  to  Governor  Stanford's  great  contribu- 
tion to  science,  in  demonstrating,  through  the  agency 
of  the  camera,  the  actual  movements  and  positions  of 
animals  in  motion.  Governor  Stanford  had  for  a  long 
time  entertained  the  opinion  that  the  accepted  theory 
of  the  relative  positions  of  the  feet  of  horses  in  rapid 
motion  was  erroneous.  He  believed  that  the  camera 
could  be  utilized  to  prove  that  the  conventional  idea  of 
the  positions  and  movements  in  rapid  motion  was 
wrong,  and  that  by  instantaneous  photographs  the 
actual  position  of  the  limbs  at  each  instant  in  the 
stride  could  be  shown.  He  ens^ao^ed  Mr.  Muvbrido-e, 
an  expert  photographer  of  San  Francisco  to  conduct 
the  experiments,  and  by  an  elaborate  arrangement  and 
equipment  of  twenty-four  cameras,  after  many  weeks' 
work,  pictures  were   prepared   showing    the   relative 


95 

position  and  movement  of  the  limbs  at  every  in- 
stant in  motion,  and  the  actual  action  of  the  trot- 
ting: and  runnino^-horses,  heretofore  a  matter  of  much 
speculation  and  supposition,  was  with  exactness  and 
certainty  reduced  to  one  of  scientific  truth.  The  pub- 
lication of  the  ekiborate  work  detailing  these  experi- 
ments— "The  Horse  in  Motion" — caused  surprise,  and 
one  might  say  created,  too,  an  almost  painful  impres- 
sion, showing  as  it  did  that  the  supposed  graceful  mo- 
tions of  the  trotter  and  runner  were  chiefly  an  optical 
delusion,  and  that  every  stride  or  "revolution"  of  a 
horse  in  rapid  motion  is  an  almost  unbroken  succession 
of  ungraceful  and  angular  positions. 

In  this  short  chapter  I  have  sought  to  outline  Palo 
Alto  as  it  was  and  as  it  is,  and  though  I  may  have 
mentioned  what  may  appear  some  unimportant  mat- 
ters, they  will  all,  I  think,  assist  the  reader  to  follow 
understandingly  the  chapters  that  follow  on  the  cam- 
paigns of  the  great  horses,  which  will  end  our  histori- 
cal work  and  launch  us  into  the  closer  discussion  of 
the  art  of  training  trotters  as  pursued  at  Palo  Alto. 


96  TRAINING   THE   TROTTING    HORSE. 


CHAPTER  YII. 

HISTORY   OF   PALO    ALTO    CONTINUED FIRST    TRIALS    OF   THE 

PALO    ALTO    SYSTEM    UNSUCCESSFUL REASONS    THERE- 
FOR  SOME   GENERAL   OBSERVATIONS   ON   TRAINING  AND 

TRAINERS OCCIDENT  AND  ABE   EDGINGTON    CAMPAIGNS- 

BRIEFLY   OUTLINED    FROM    1878    TO    1889 THE    GREAT 

CAMPAIGN  OF  1886 PLANS    FOR   1888    FRUSTRATED   BY 

FIRE FURTHER    SUCCESSES. 

The  first  horses  I  worked  at  Palo  Alto  were  Abe 
Edgington  and  the  more  famous  Occident  that  had 
made  a  record  of  2:16f  some  years  before.  These 
horses  were  at  Sacramento  when  I  came  to  Palo  Alto, 
but  shortly  were  brought  home.  After  some  little 
work  on  the  usual  plan  of  training,  I  drove  Edgington 
a  mile  in  2:22,  and  Occident  worked  in  2:19. 

Then  Governor  Stanford  explained  to  me  his  ideas 
of  training,  fully  outlining  a  theory,  the  general  prin- 
ciples of  which  are  those  now  followed  at  Palo  Alto, 
and  which  is  properly  called  "the  Palo  Alto  system." 
He  explained  the  advantages  he  saw  in  the  "  brush 
plan"  of  teaching  a  horse  to  trot  fast.  He  did  not  be- 
lieve that  the  best  way  to  teach  a  horse  speed  was  by 
incessant  jogging  or  working  mile  after  mile  in  a  drill- 
ing way.  On  the  other  hand,  he  contended  that  by 
sending  a  horse  short  distances  nearly  up  to  his  limit 
but  not  far  enough  to  tire  him,  allowing  him  to  get  his 


AN    UNSUCCESSFUL   BEGINNING.  97 

breath  between  clashes,  he  would  make  speed  faster, 
and  do  bis  work  with  eagerness,  spirit  and  relish.  He 
saw  that  speed  was  the  great  essential,  and  that  the 
best  results  would  be  attained  b}"  making  speed  and 
then  conditioning  the  horse  to  carr\^  it,  rather  than  by 
drilling  him  into  condition  without  first  teaching  him 
to  trot  at  a  high  rate.  In  short,  he  outlined  to  me  the 
central  features  of  the  plan  of  training  that  is  ex- 
plained in  detail  in  coming  chapters  of  this  work, 
though  of  course  years  of  experiment  and  practice  have 
modified  in  some  details  the  projected  system  then  un- 
folded by  Governor  Stanford.  After  endeavoring  to 
give  me  a  clear  understanding  of  the  methods  he 
wished  followed,  he  instructed  me  to  train  Occident, 
Edo^ino;ton  and  the  other  horses  accordinHv. 

This  was  new  and  rather  strange  to  me,  and  I  am 
free  to  say  that  while  I  was  determined  to  do  the  best 
I  could  to  carry  out  my  employer's  instructions,  I  had 
very  little  faith  in  the  ultimate  success  of  the  experi- 
ment. Horse-trainers  are  probably  the  hardest  men  in 
the  world  to  teach — not  because  they  are  slow  to  learn 
when  they  want  to,  but  because  they  know  so  much 
already  that  they  cannot  learn  any  more,  and  I  pre- 
sume I  was  no  better  in  this  respect  than  the  majority. 
AYe  are  all  too  apt  to  think  that  our  way  is  necessarily 
the  best,  and  that  no  other  possible  plan  can  be  better. 
I  have  also,  in  traveling  along  the  highway  of  a  busy 
life,  observed  that  few  mechanics  work  well  with  new 
and  strange  tools;  that  we  never  travel  a  new  road 
quite  so  rapidly  and  steadily  as  over  the  beaten  paths ; 
and,  moreover,  it  has  seemed  to  me  to  be  a  rule  that 
when  a  man  starts  in  to  do  a  thing  believing  that  it  is 


98  TRAINING    THE    TROTTING    HORSE, 

bound  to  be  a  failure,  it  generally  is  one.  The  great 
majority  of  men  who  succeed  in  any  certain  undertak- 
ing are  those  who  begin  it  with  faith  that  they  will 
succeed.  These  characteristics  of  human  nature  in 
part  explain  why  my  first  essays  with  the  new  system 
of  training  were  almost  heart-breaking  failures.  It  is 
my  duty  to  detail  these  failures,  not  only  as  incidents 
in  the  history  of  Palo  Alto,  but  to  point  out  that 
should  others  try  this  plan  of  training  and  not  at  first 
succeed,  it  would  not  be  a  surprising  thing,  and  should 
not  be  a  discouragement. 

After  I  had  worked  Occident  and  Abe  Edgington  on 
the  new  plan  for  about  ten  days,  instead  of  improving 
on  their  2:19  and  2:22  trials,  it  would  keep  them  work- 
ing all  the  time  to  trot  in  2:40.  Just  as  an}^  other 
trainer  would,  I  at  once  jumped  to  the  conclusion  that 
this  new  system  of  training  trotters  was  one  of  the 
many  pretty  theories  that  won't  do  in  practice.  So,  I 
went  back  and  worked  the  horses  on  the  old  plan, 
which  I  knew  something  about,  and  got  them  going 
pretty  well  again.  But  then  the  Governor  insisted 
that  I  should  follow  his  instructions,  and  the  new  idea 
was  worked  on  again  with  the  same  result.  The  horses 
lost  their  speed  apparentl}^  as  completely  as  if  we  had 
worked  them  over  soft  ground  in  a  harrow.  This  was 
in  September,  1878.  One  day  Governor  Stanford 
came  down  to  the  farm  to  see  the  horses  work,  as 
both  had  engagements  that  week.  The  best  Abe 
Edgington  could  do  was  to  get  to  the  half  in  1:14,  and 
it  took  him  0:47  to  come  home  from  the  head  of  the 
stretch.  Occident's  trial  was  even  worse.  Then  I  re- 
peated Edgington,  but  he  was  unable  to  do  better. 


EAELY    CAMPAIGNS.  99 

Governor  Stanford  asked  me  to  repeat  Occident,  but  1 
succeeded  in  having  botli  the  horse  and  myself  excused, 
until  he  got  over  that  attack  of  "the  slows." 

Xow,  however  certain  it  seemed  to  me  then  that  the 
fault  was  all  with  the  system,  I  now  know  that  this 
was  not  the  true  explanation  of  the  lamentable  tem- 
porary degeneration  in  the  speed  of  Abe  Edgington 
and  Occident.     The  plan  was  all  right,  but  I  did'^not 
know  how  to  use  it,  and  I  gave  the  horses  too  much  of 
it.     A  man  used  to  working  horses  mile  heats  natu- 
rally does  not  think  he  is  doing  anything  in  quarter- 
mile  or  furlong  brushes,  and  in  under-estimating  the 
amount  of  fast  work  I  was  really  doing,  the  job  was 
overdone.      An   old   horse,  one   that   has    been   very 
long  trained,  cannot,  it  must  be  remembered,  stand 
as    much    fast    work    as    a  young  one    can    at   the 
gait   he   can   go.     A  child  can  play  until  tired,  and 
after   a    little    rest    will    be    quite    refreshed    again, 
where   a  man    will  tire  and   remain  tired.     You  can 
work  a  yearling  colt  twice  a  day  to  advantage,  wlien 
a  similar  system   of  irroixjrtionate  work  will  stale  a 
mature  horse.     Once  a  horse  develops  a  high  rate  of 
speed,  it  must  be  remembered  that  he  cannot  stand  as 
much  sharp  work  as  one  that  has  not  reached  high- 
speeding  capacity.     So  after  I  became  more  familiar 
with  training  on  the  Palo  Alto  plan  it  was  not  neces- 
sary for  me  to  seek  any  explanation  of  the  first  unsuc- 
cessful experiments,  other  than  that  I  was  working  a 
system  that  I  did  not  understand,  and  did  not  know 
how  to  apply  with  proper  judgment. 

When  Electioneer  came  to  Palo  Alto  thirteen  of  the 
get  of  Messenger  Duroc  came  with  him,  and  candor 


100  TRAINING   THE   TROTTING    HORSE. 

compels  me  to  say  that  with  the  exception  of  Elec- 
tioneer and  his  half-sister,  Elaine,  there  was  nothing  in 
the  lot  of  any  great  account.  When  I  first  came  to 
Palo  Alto,  however,  Mohawk  Chief  was  at  the  head 
of  the  stud,  and  I  spent  two  hard  seasons'  work  in 
trying  to  make  trotters  of  his  get,  but  I  never  saw  one 
that  any  amount  of  training  could  make  even  a  2:40 
trotter  of.  Once  it  was  plain  to  Governor  Stanford 
that  Mohawk  Chief  was  not  a  gifted  sire  of  trotters. 
Gen.  Benton  became  lord  of  the  harem,  and  when,  in 
1880,  the  then  phenomenal  performances  of  Fred 
Crocker  gave  a  slight  token  of  Electioneer's  coming 
greatness,  he  became  the  pride  of  Palo  Alto.  Mohawk 
Chief  has  long  been  retired  to  "  private  life." 

For  the  purposes  of  this  sketch  of  Palo  Alto  history 
merely  a  brief  recapitulation  of  its  campaigns  are 
necessary,  as  the  notable  horses  that  have  from  time 
to  time  iDrought  the  stable  fame  and  prestige  are  dealt 
with  in  their  order  in  succeeding  chapters. 

The  principal  horses  in  the  "  string"  in  my  first  cam- 
paign (1878),  under  Governor  Stanford's  colors,  were 
Occident  and  Abe  Edgington.  Though  Occident  was 
only  successful  in  one  race,  he  was  second  to  Col. 
Lewis  when  that  good  horse  made  his  record  at  Oak- 
land, Cahfornia,  going  three  heats  in  2:18|,  2:19i,  2:21, 
Judge  Fullerton  being  third. 

About  a  month  later  Occident  beat  Judge  Fullerton, 
at  Sacramento,  in  2:23,  2:23J,  2:22.  At  Santa  Clara, 
October  1st,  Abe  Edgington  beat  Doty,  Coquette  and 
Frank  Ferguson  in  straight  heats,  taking  a  record  of 
2:23J,  which  stands  as  his  fastest  mark. 

In  1879  we  did  not  campaign  to  any  extent,  starting 


WILDFLOWER    AXD    HINDA    ROSP:.  1()1 

only  Occident  and  the  brown  gelding  Capt.  Smith,  by 
Locomotive,  out  of  the  famous  mare  Maid  of  Clay,  the 
dam  of  the  stallion  Clay,  2:25,  and  Carrie  C,  2:24,  two 
of  Electioneers  get  that  have  since  distinguished  them- 
selves. We  started  at  Sacramento,  September  11th, 
where  Ca])t.  Smith  was  beaten  by  Del  Sur,  and  Occi- 
dent by  Xutwood.  "We  started  Occident  a  couple  of 
weeks  later,  at  San  Jose,  against  Graves,  and  Graves 
won  in  straight  heats  in  2:20,  2:20,  2:23.  This  race 
ended  the  turf  career  of  Occident. 

The  following  year,  1880,  was  a  busier  and  more 
successful  one  for  the  stable,  and  it  marked  the  debut 
of  the  first  of  the  sensational  youngsters  that  have 
come  from  Palo  Alto,  for  in  that  year  Fred  Crocker 
lowered  the  two-year-old  record  to  2:25 J.  We  also 
campaigned  Elaine,  the  half-sister  to  Electioneer,  that 
season,  and  gave  her  a  record  of  2:20,  and  with  Capt. 
Smith  we  beat  Del  Sur  at  Sacramento,  giving  him  a 
record  of  2:29.  In  1881  Palo  Alto  brought  out  two 
other  world-famous  young  performers  in  the  yearling 
filly  Hinda  Kose,  and  the  two-year-old  TTildflower, 
daughters  of  Electioneer.  Hinda  Eose  made  a  yearling 
record  of  2-Mi,  and  Wildflower  a  two-year-old  record 
of  2:21,  and  the  former  record  stood  unbeaten  for  six 
years,  while  the  latter  was  at  the  head  of  the  list  for 
seven  years.  On  the  same  day  that  Hinda  Eose  made 
her  record  we  gave  Bonita  a  two-year-old  record  of 
2:24^,  beating  all  performances  except  Wildflower's; 
and  now  the  star  of  Electioneer  was  fairly  started  in 
its  ascendant  flight  toward  that  high  pinnacle  of 
supremacy  as  a  sire  of  young  trotters  where  no  rival 
has  been  able  to  approach  it. 


102  TRAINING    THE   TROTTING    HORSE. 

In  1882  I  started  East  with  Wildflower  and  Hinda 
Rose,  lea\dng  Sacramento  September  20th,  and  after 
winning  the  two  stakes  we  went  after,  we  returned 
home.  In  1883  we  again  went  East  with  Bonita, 
Hinda  Rosa,  and  Wildflower,  and  the  chief  triumph  of 
the  campaign  was  Hinda  Rose's  lowering  the  three- 
year-old  record  to  2:19J,  and  Bonita  also  lowered  the 
four-year-old  record — 2:19,  by  Jay-Eye-See — to  2:18f. 
Wildflower  suffered  from  distemper  all  through  the 
season. 

In  1884,  owmg  to  the  death  of  the  bright  and  well- 
beloved  3^outh,  Leland  Stanford,  Jr.,  the  Palo  Alto 
stable  did  not  campaign;  but  as  Elvira,  daughter  of 
Cuyler,  had  taken  the  four-year-old  honor  back  to  Ken- 
tucky by  trotting  a  mile  in  2:1 8|^,  we  took  a  few  young- 
sters up  to  the  Bay  District  track  in  the  autumn,  and 
besides  giving  Manzanita  a  two-year-old  public  trial  of 
2:25,  drove  the  four-year-old  Sallie  Benton,  daughter  of 
Gen.  Benton,  a  mile  in  2:17f ,  and  thus  the  four-year-old 
banner  w^as  pulled  down  from  the  Glenview  staff,  and 
hoisted  over  Palo  Alto,  where  it  yet  remains,  with 
"Manzanita,  2:16"  blazoned  on  it. 

In  1885,  about  the  last  of  July,  we  shipped  East  a 
strong  stable  of  twelve  trotters,  among  them  Man- 
zanita, Sallie  Benton,  Sphinx,  Carrie  C,  Palo  Alto, 
Hinda  Rose,  St.  Bel,  Rexford  and  Chimes.  We  w^ent 
direct  to  Rochester,  thence  to  Albany,  where  Manzanita 
and  Palo  Alto  each  "walked  over"  for  stakes.  At 
Rochester  two  of  the  best  strings  in  our  bow  snapped 
when  Sallie  Benton  and  I^ellie  Benton  (a  very  promis- 
ing mare)  broke  down.  Among  our  successes  were  the 
victory  of  Manzanita  in  the  great  three-year  old  race 


THE   CAMPAIGN   OF    1886.  103 

at  Chicao^o,  of  Carrie  C.  over  Princeton  at  Chicago, 
and  of  Sphinx  over  Nutbreaker  at  Albany. 

Early  in  the  spring  of  1886  we  started  East  again 
with  nine  car-loads  of  horses,  eight  of  which  were  con- 
signed to  :N'ew  York  for  sale,  the  other  containing  the 
trotting  stables,  which  consisted  of  ]Manzanita,°Palo 
Alto,  Hinda  Eose,  Sphinx,  St.  Bel.  Chimes,  Suisun  and 
the    bay  o:elding   Commotion.     We   shipped   this   car 
direct  to  Louisville,  whence  I  went  to  Xew  York.     On 
my  return  I  found  the  horses  all  sick,  and  but  for  the 
assistance  of  Dr.  Coster,  of  the  Haggin  racing  stable, 
we  would  have  fared  badly.     From  Louisville  we  went 
to  Kalamazoo,  where  Palo  Alto  beat  Victor  and  others, 
July   29th,   in   straight   heats;    and   on   July   1st  he 
defeated  Anniversary  and  five  others  in  straight  heats 
in  a  good  race.    Xow  we  went  to  East  Sagina^'w,  where 
Palo  Alto  beat  Wilton,  Lucy  Fry  and  others,  taking  a 
record   of    2:2oi  in   the   fifth   heat.     Manzanita   was 
second  to  Belle  Hamhn  in  a  fast  race   at  the   same 
meeting.     At   Detroit,  Wilton   turned   the   tables  on 
Palo  Alto  in  a  grand  race ;  and  at  Cleveland  the  four- 
year-old  Manzanita  was  beaten,  but  not  on  her  merits, 
by   Belle   Hamlin   and   a   strong  field  of  other  aged 
horses.     Xext  we  went  to  ATaysville,  Kentucky,  wh'^re 
St.  Bel  took  a  four-year-old  record  of  2:21^  in  his  first 
race.     At  Covington,  Manzanita  easily  beat  Eagle  Bird 
in  a  stake  race,  and  Palo  Alto  defeated  Tom°Pogers 
and  others  after  a  six-heat   battle;  and  at  the  same 
place  St.  Bel,  Suisun  and  Sphinx  also  won  races.   Then 
we  went  to  Lexington,  where  Manzanita  beat  Green- 
Jander,  trotting    the    third    heat  in    2:16,  which  still 
stands  as  the  best  on  record  for  a  four-year-old.     Here 


104  TRAINING   THE   TROTTING    HORSE. 

also  Sphinx  beat  Castalia,  and  Suisun  beat  Ben  Hur 
and  others.  I^ext  we  went  to  Cleveland,  where  Palo 
Alto  defeated  Deck  Wright  and  other  seasoned  cam- 
paigners after  a  six-heat  contest,  and  St.  Bel  won  over 
a  good  field.  Manzanita,  Palo  Alto,  St.  Bel  and  Sphinx 
put  other  victories  to  their  credit  before  we  returned 
to  Lexington  for  the  fall  meeting.  In  the  three-year- 
old  stake  Sphinx  was  beaten  by  Bermuda  and  Nut- 
breaker,  and  Hinda  Kose  was  unequal  to  the  task  of 
beating  the  great  Patron,  but  Manzanita  carried  the 
stable's  colors  to  victory  over  Greenlander  and  August 
Haverstick  in  the  four-year-old  stake.  At  St.  Louis, 
October  5th,  St.  Bel  was  beaten  by  Astral,  but  on  the 
7th  Manzanita  decisively  defeated  the  Kentucky  cham- 
pion four-year-old.  Patron,  in  a  great  race  in  straight 
heats,  and  on  the  following  day  Palo  Alto,  by  beating 
Charley  Hogan  and  others,  closed  what  was  certainly 
a  very  successful  season  for  the  Palo  Alto  stable.  The 
greatness  of  Electioneer  now  received  marked  recogni- 
tion, for  Mr.  Brodhead,  of  Woodburn,  shipped  with  us 
Miss  Eussell  (the  dam  of  Maud  S.,  2:08i),  two  of 
Maud  S.'s  sisters,  a  sister  to  Nutwood^  and  the  dam  of 
Pancoast  to  be  bred  to  him.  Though  we  got  back 
home  only  three  days  before  the  Stanford  Stake  was 
trotted  for,  we  started  Kexford  in  that  race,  and  beat 
Alcazar  handily. 

In  1887  our  stable  was  not  in  the  best  of  condition. 
Clifton  Bell,  after  bemg  beaten  by  Tempest  at  Sacra- 
mento, came  to  the  Bay  District  track  and  won  a  good 
race,  afterward  taking  a  record  of  2:24|^.  He  was  a 
four-year-old  of  great  promise.  Besides  Clifton  Bell 
we  gave  Ansel  a  record  of  2:20,  Maiden  a  three  year- 


A   DISASTROUS    FIRE.  lUO 

old  record  of  2:23,  Alban  a  record  of  2:2i,  Carlisle  a 
record  of  2:28|,  and  Whips  a  record  of  2:27^.  But  the 
triumph  of  the  year  \yas  not  with  the  "grown-up" 
colts,  but  with  a  tender  youngster.  After  the  news 
came  from  Kentucky  that  Sudie  D.  had  lowered  the 
yearling  record  of  Hinda  Eose  to  2:35|  on  October 
15th,  we  went  to  work  with  i^orlaine  (by  Xorv^al,  son 
of  Electioneer,  out  of  Elaine,  2:20),  and  on  ^November 
12th  sent  them  back  an  answer  of  2:31|^  for  a  yearling 
record. 

A  great  calamity  befell  Palo  Alto  in  April,  1888. 
AYe  had  a  formidable  stable  ready  for  the  summer  cam- 
paign, when,  on  the  night  of  April  ITth,  a  destructive 
fire  broke  out  in  the  training-stable  nearest  the  track, 
in  which  were  twenty -two  horses,  including  the  cream 
of  our  '-string."  :Xine  were  burned  to  death,  viz.: 
Rexford,  2:23 ;  Clifton  Bell,  2:21: ;  Xorlaine,  2:31J,  the 
great  yearling ;  Kriss  Kringle,  that  had  gone  a  mile  in 
2:21:;  Cedric  and  Lowell,  three-year-olds,  that  could 
both  beat  2:30  in  their  two-year-old  form ;  Howard,  a 
phenomenon  that  I  regarded  as  one  of  the  greatest 
young  horses  we  ever  had,  and  two  geldings  that  had 
beaten  2:30.  Palo  Alto  and  Arodi,  by  Piedmont,  were 
badly  burned.  Thus  as  strong  a  stable  as  Palo  Alto 
ever  had  was  utterly  demoralized.  ^Ve  had  then  to 
take  up  a  new  lot  of  horses,  including  some  that  had 
been  turned  out  as  not  being  very  promising.  Xot- 
w^ithstanding  this,  we  in  1888  lowered  the  two-year-old 
record  to  2:18  with  Sunol  and  gave  the  following  other 
horses  records  :  Palo  Alto  Belle  (two-year-old),  2:28J ; 
Azmoor,  2:21f ;  Cubic,  2:28i;  Ella,  2:29,  and  Express, 
2:29i. 


106  TRAINING  THE  TROTTING  HOESE. 

The  Palo  Alto  triumphs  of  1889  are  fresh  in  every 
one's  memory.  Sunol  lowered  the  three-year-old  rec- 
ord of  the  world  to  2:10^,  and  Palo  Alto  trotted  in 
2:1 2i,  faster  than  any  stallion  ever  trotted  previous  to 
1889.  Express  lowered  his  record  to  2:21 ;  Sport  and 
Lorita,  both  by  Piedmont,  each  trotted  to  a  record  of 
2:22i;  Carlisle  lowered  his  record  to  2:26J,  Marion 
trotted  in  2:26f ,  Arol  made  a  record  of  2:21,  Emalinu  a 
record  of  2:271-,  Pedlar  a  two-year-old  record  of  2:27^, 
and  Del  Mar  a  two-year-old  record  of  2:30.  This 
makes  certainly  a  brilliant  record  for  a  season. 


SKETCHES    OF   FAMOUS   ANIMALS.  107 


CHAPTEE  YIII. 

SKETCHES   OF   FAMOUS    ANIMALS   TRAINED   AT    PALO    ALTO — 

THE    STARS    OF    TEN    YEARS    AGO OCCIDENT   THE    FIRST 

HORSE    TO    BEAT    2:17 THE    STRANGE    HISTORY    OF    HIS 

SIRE OLD     ST.     CLAIR — ABE     EDGINGTON THE      HALF 

BROTHERS,  CLAY   AND    CAPT.  SMITH THE    GREAT   MARE 

ELAINE,    2:20 — FRED    CROCKER,    THE    FIRST   PALO   ALTO 
RECORD-BREAKER. 

I  HAVE  now  outlined  in  as  brief  a  manner  as  possible 
the  general  history  of  Palo  Alto,  but  the  scope  of  the 
foregoing  chapters  would  not  admit  of  justice  being 
done  each  of  the  greater  horses  mentioned  that  have 
earned  world-wide  fame.  Every  horseman  will,  I 
know,  be  glad  to  have  some  more  definite  account  of 
such  great  horses  as  Palo  Alto,  Sunol,  Manzanita, 
Hinda  Rose,  etc.,  and  I  now  propose  to  give  sketches 
of  each  in  turn,  relating  their  individual  characteristics, 
their  breeding,  their  history,  and  important  facts  bear- 
ing on  their  training.  Though  I  am  averse  to  devot- 
ing too  much  of  the  space  of  this  book  to  historical 
writing,  or  to  story-telling,  the  reader  will  not  fail  to 
appreciate  the  fact  that  this  matter  is  really  illustra- 
tive of  our  system  of  training,  and  is  necessary  to  a 
proper  understanding  of  it,  and  of  Avhat  it  has  accom- 
plished and  can  accomplish.  Just  as  the  history  of 
Smuggler  had  its  lessons  to  the  tr^'ner.  so  the  history 


108  TRAINING    THE    TROTTING    HOKSE. 

of  every  one  of  the  Palo  Alto  stars  has  had  its  lessons, 
and  the  training  of  each  one  contributed  its  share  in 
showing  where  improvements  can  be  learned  in  the 
details  of  developing  trotting  horses.  I  will  not,  of 
course,  attempt  to  sketch  all  of  the  horses  I  have 
trained  and  driven  to  fast  records,  but  will  confine  my- 
self chiefly  to  the  great  performers,  who  have  made 
themselves  an  enduring  name  in  trotting  history. 

It  being  desirable  in  a  measure  to  observe  chrono- 
loo'ical  order,  we  will  beo^in  with  the  earher  trotters 
rather  than  with  the  greater  ones.  As  already  noted, 
Occident  and  Abe  Edgington  were  the  first  horses  I 
worked  at  Palo  Alto,  and  as  these  horses  were  "  made'^ 
before  they  reached  my  hands,  I  must  be  brief  with 
them, 

Occident  was  a  brown  gelding,  foaled  in  1863,  and 
was  bred  by  a  Mr.  Shaw  in  the  Sacramento  Yalley. 
His  pedigree  did  not  amount  to  much,  but  the  blood  of 
his  grandsire,  St.  Clair,  has  been  made  famous  by  such 
trotters  as  Manzanita,  2:16;  Bonita,  2:18^;  Wildflower, 
2:21,  and  Fred  Crocker,  2:25i.  Old  St.  Clair,  the 
pacer,  was  an  "overland  horse"  that  came  across  the 
plains,  from  no  one  knows  where  to  California  in  1849. 
He  worked  as  a  dray-horse  in  the  streets  of  Sacra- 
mento, and  later  as  leader  in  a  stage  team,  but  was 
finally,  after  he  was  foundered  and  good  for  nothing 
else,  put  into  the  stud  in  that  city  by  Mr.  John  Miller, 
and  was  burned  to  death  about  186-1.  Besides  Doc,  the 
sire  of  Occident,  he  sired  Lady  St.  Clair  that  has  the 
fastest  five-mile  pacing  record  in  the  world — 12:541, 
made  in  1874.  His  son,  Doc,  got  onlv  a  few  foals,  and 
died  on  his  way  to  Oregon  r,bout  twenty-five  years  ago. 


THE    SIRE   OF    OCCIDENT.  109 

Occident's  dam  was  a  little  bay  mare,  not  quite  15 
hands  high,  that  came  probably  from  Lower  California. 
Occident  had  the  usual  life  of  a  scrub  with  more  than 
the  usual  hardships,  until  when  he  was  three  or  four 
years  old  he  in  some  way  got  into  a  '-scrub  race"  and 
won  it.  Then  a  man  named  Eldred  bef^-an  traininor- 
him,  and  with  such  good  results  that  he  became  quite 
a  sensation.  Finally,  Governor  Stanford  paid  about 
$5,000  for  him,  and  he  had  gone  so  fast  that  his  first 
race  was  against  no  less  a  competitor  than  Goldsmith 
Maid.  This  was  in  October,  1872,  and  the  Maid 
won  in  straight  heats.  Xext  he  tried  conclusions  with 
old  Lucy,  at  San  Francisco,  and  she  distanced  him  in 
2:20  in  the  second  heat.  The  fastest  heat  that  had  ever 
been  trotted  up  to  this  time  was  2:17^,  made  by  Gold- 
smith Maid  when  she  defeated  Lucy  in  September, 
1872.  In  1873  the  California  State  Fair  offered  a 
valuable  piece  of  plate  for  Occident  to  beat  this  record, 
and  at  the  Fair  at  Sacramento,  September  17,  1873,  he 
broke  that  record,  trotting  the  mile  in  2:16|.  The  next 
year  he  was  beaten  by  Sam  Purdy,  but  later  beat 
Judge  Fullerton,  trotting  the  second  heat  of  his  race 
in  2:18.  Then  he  was  taken  East  by  Budd  Doble,  but 
never  started,  owing  to  trouble  with  his  feet.  Doble 
"Dunbared"  his  feet,  which  process  consists  in  cutting 
down- the  foot,  sole,  and  frog,  and  shoeing  with  the 
shoe  nailed  well  back  on  the  heel,  after  Avhich  a 
^'spreader,"  with  spreading  screws,  is  put  in.  He  was 
brought  back,  and,  after  a  long  vacation,  came  into  my 
hands  in  1878,  and  won  another  good  race  against 
Judge  Fullerton,  as  related  in  the  last  chapter. 

Occident  was  a  mixed  gaited  horse,  and  would  amble 


110  TRAINING   THE   TROTTING    HORSE. 

and  break  in  the  most  annojang  manner,  and,  as  usual 
with  a  horse  so  strongly  indined  to  pace  when  he 
broke,  he  made  standstill  breaks.  After  I  had  him 
awhile  I  taught  him  to  break  better,  and  once  drove 
him  a  quarter,  with  a  break  in  it,  in  thirty-three 
seconds.  He  Avent  a  mile  for  me  over  the  Palo  Alto 
track,  which  was  forty-five  feet  long,  in  2:19.  He  was 
a  little  dark  bay,  or  brown  horse,  weighing  about  900 
pounds,  very  compactly  built,  of  pacing  form,  with  a 
very  steep  rump,  a  handsome  head,  and  legs  of  iron. 
He  never  was  Occident  while  I  had  him,  and  Governor 
Stanford  has  expressed  to  me  his  belief  that  had  our 
methods  been  followed  with  him  Avhen  young  he 
would  have  trotted  as  fast  a  mile  as  any  horse  of 
our  day. 

The  grey  gelding  Abe  Edgington  was  an  Ohio  bred 
horse.  He  was  by  Stockbridge  Chief  Jr.,  a  grandson 
of  Vermont  Black  Hawk.  His  first  notable  perform- 
ance was  at  San  Francisco,  May  11,  1875,  in  a  match 
with  the  brown  gelding  Defiance,  by  Chieftain.  This 
horse  had  made  a  pacing  record  of  2:171  two  years 
before,  and  had  then  been  put  to  trotting,  and  in  the 
sprmg  of  1875  was  matched  against  Edgington  for 
$10,000  a  side.  Defiance  was  beaten,  though  he  won 
the  first  heat  in  2:21^,  and  the  third  in  2:29.  Governor 
Stanford,  I  understand,  paid  a  long  price  for  Edging- 
ton— $20,000  it  was  said  to  be.  Doble  took  him  East 
when  he  took  Occident,  and  had  better  luck  with  him, 
winning  two  or  three  good  races,  and  once  beating 
among  others  the  fast  mare  Belle  Brasfield.  I  have 
already  detailed  what  he  did  after  I  went  to  Palo  Alto 
in  1878. 


CAPT.    SMITH    AND   CLAY.  Ill 

Abe  Edgington  was  a  peculiar  sort  of  horse  to  train. 
He  (lid  best  with  about  thirteen  ounces  on  his  front 
feet,  though  he  could  trot  faster  with  eight,  but  could 
not  get  away  fast.  Hence  he  was  at  a  disadvantage  in 
startinof.  When  he  came  into  mv  hands  he  was  in 
about  as  bad  condition  as  a  horse  could  be  to  prepare, 
and  we  experimented  on  him  with  the  new  system  of 
training  before  we  understood  how  to  apply  that 
system.  So  some  allowances  must  be  made,  and  I  will 
here  say  that  though  his  record  is  only  2:23f ,  I  have 
always  believed  that  Edgington  was  the  superior  of 
Occident  as  a  race-horse.  He  was  an  iron-gray,  sixteen 
hands  high,  and  would  turn  the  scale  at  1,050  pounds 
when  in  good  shape.  He  was  a  stoutly-built  horse, 
high  at  the  wither  and  up-headed  and  lofty  in  carriage, 
and,  as  4^  show-horse  or  "  parader,"  would  attract 
marked  attention  anywhere.  He  was  used  m  Governor 
Stanford's  photographic  work,  illustrating  the  actual 
movements  of  the  fast  trotting-horse. 

Capt.  Smith,  the  brown  gelding  by  Locomotive,  out 
of  Maid  of  Clay,  was  a  much  faster  horse  than  his 
record  indicates,  but  he  became  a  bad  puller,  and  little 
could  be  done  with  him.  We  drove  this  horse  a  quar- 
ter close  to  thirty-one  seconds,  and  a  mile  in  2:21  as  a 
four-year-old,  but  this  clip  made  his  head  swim.  The 
onh^  race  he  ever  won  was  against  Del  Sur,  at  Sac- 
ramento, September  21,  1880,  and  there  are  certain 
things  connected  with  that  race  that  fastens  it  pretty 
securely  in  my  mind.  We  won  it  finally,  but,  as  Splan 
would  say,  I  had  to  "  hustle  "  all  I  knew  how  to  get  there. 
Capt.  Smith  won  the  first  heat  in  2:29,  and  then  Del 
Sur  cut  loose  and  won  the  second  and  third  in  2:25  and 


J 12  TRAINING   THE   TROTTING    HORSE. 

2:28.  The  betting  was  now  $100  to  $8  against  Capt. 
Smith,  and  the  prospect  looked  rather  shady.  In  the 
next  heat  I  hiid  Capt.  Smith  right  on  Del  Sur's  wheeJ. 
and  stuck  "closer  than  a  brother"  to  him  for  about 
seven- eighths  of  the  mile.  Then  I  pulled  the  Captain 
out,  and  cariying  Del  Sur  to  a  tired  break,  just  won  in 
2:32.  Now  consternation  reigned  around  the  pool-box. 
Strong  influence  was  brought  to  bear  on  me  not  to  win 
the  deciding  heat — influence  not  from  the  Del  Sur  peo- 
ple, but  from  parties  who  had  "  got  into  the  box  "  the 
wrong  way,  and  who,  though  it  was  their  duty  to  look 
after  Governor  Stanford's  interests,  endeavored,  by 
coaxing  and  threatening,  to  have  me  allow  the  I*alo 
Alto  horse  to  be  beaten.  I  told  these  gentlemen  that 
if  they  wanted  to  save  their  mone\^,  and  could  not 
"  hedge,"  I  failed  to  see  any  help  for  them  unless  night 
or  "something  else  would  suddenly  come  and  cause  a 
postponement.  Del  Sur  was  not  a  game  horse,  and  I 
had  not  much  trouble  in  beating  him  in  the  last  heat. 

The  gelding  Cla}^  was  a  half  brother  to  Capt.  Smith, 
being  by  Fred  Low  (or  St.  Clair,  656,  as  he  is  recorded), 
out  of  Maid  of  Clay.  He  was  a  little  black  fellow  that 
would  not  weigh  more  than  710  pounds,  but  he  was  a 
much  faster  horse  than  Capt.  Smith.  Judigiously 
handled,  2:20  would  not  have  stopped  him,  but  we  gave 
him  too  much  fast  work  against  the  watch.  Like 
Capt.  Smith,  he  became  an  inveterate  puller— one  of 
the  kind  that  would  look  the  driver  square  in  the  face. 
He  won  a  few  good  races  for  the  farm,  and  took  a 
record  of  2:25iin  1881. 

Elaine  was  another  trotter  whose  career  was  marred 
by  that  generally  incurable  fault — pulling.     This  mare 


THE   GREAT    ELAINE.  113 

was  bred  by  Mr.  Charles  Backman,  at  Stony  Ford,Xew 
York,  and  was  got  by  ]\[essenger  Duroc,  out  of  Green 
Mountain  Maid,  the  dam  of  Electioneer.  When  Gover- 
nor Stanford  bought  Electioneer  and  a  number  of 
others  from  Mr.  Backman  in  1ST6,  the  brown  filly 
Ekiine  was  among  them,  and  for  her  he  gave  ST,000. 
She  did  not  come  to  California  with  the  others,  but 
was  left  in  Carl  Burr's  hands.  Burr  worked  her  easily 
through  the  winter  of  1ST6-TT,  and  fitted  her  for  her 
eno^aofement  the  followino^  summer.  At  Hartford,  in 
September,  1S7T,  in  a  three-year-old  stake,  she  dis- 
tanced her  field  in  the  second  heat  in  2:28,  thus  break- 
ing the  three-year-old  record.  A  year  later,  Burr  gave 
her  a  record  of  2:21J,  making  the  four-year-old  record 
of  that  da}^  She  then  came  home  to  Palo  Alto.  We 
did  not  work  her  much  as  a  five-year  old,  she  having 
injured  her  leg  by  stepping  in  a  gopher  hole.  She 
developed  into  a  mare  of  fine  size,  standing  about  15.2, 
and  of  good  form,  with  a  great  deal  of  natural  speed. 
In  her  six-year-old  form — 1880 — Ave  started  her  at  San 
Francisco,  September  22d,  against  Gibraltar,  Reliance, 
and  Echora,  and  won  in  straight  heats  in  2:21J,  2:22|-, 
2:21.  At  San  Jose,  October  6th,  she  beat  Bateman 
and  Brigadier  in  a  better  race.  Time — 2:2nf,  2:21|^, 
2:21^.  I  should  here  state  that  she  was  not  an  abso- 
lutely^ sound  mare  in  these  races,  nor  in  the  one  with 
Santa  Claus  to  which  I  am  about  to  refer.  In  1879  I 
worked  her  a  fast  half,  and  not  wishing  to  send  her 
right  up  to  her  limit,  I  twice  took  her  back  in  the  trial, 
but  still  she  covered  the  distance  in  1:05  flat,  xlfter 
tliis  one  of  the  rear  flexor  tendons  gave  way,  and 
though  we  kept  her  up  pretty  well  the  two  races  just 


Ill  TRAINING    THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 

mentioned  had  their  effect,  and  when  she  started 
against  Santa  Clans,  November  13th,  she  was  lame, 
and  wore  a  rubber  bandage  to  support  the  strained 
ligament.  Still  she  made  Santa  Glaus  trot  five  heats 
to  win.  The  time  of  the  race  shows  that  it  was  a  good 
one— 2:20,  2:18,  2:20^,  2:18^,  2:20— Elaine  Avinning  the 
first  and  third  heats.  Santa  Glaus  was  a  good  race- 
horse, and  it  took  a  good  horse  nine  years  ago  to  force 
one  of  his  class  to  trot  five  heats  averao^ing'  better  than 
2:20.  Elaine  was  a  very  rapid-gaited  mare,  and  had, 
as  I  have  shown,  a  world  of  speed,  but  her  propensity 
for  pulling  on  the  bit  made  it  difficult,  and,  indeed, 
impossible  to  properly  control  that  speed,  and  so  dis- 
tribute or  rate  it  over  a  mile  as  to  show  by  the 
figures  of  a  mile  record  just  what  her  capacity 
was.  She  was  somewhat  peculiar  in  her  gait.  She 
might  be  going  well  and  fast,  and  you  could 
chirrup  to  her  and  she  would  respond,  but  the 
increase  in  her  speed  would  be  so  gradual  that  she 
would  have  gone  perhaps  a  hundred  yards  before 
you  could  detect  that  she  had  quickened  her  pace,  but 
by  that  time  it  would  be  terrific  speed.  Her  increase 
of  speed  was  almost  imperceptible,  like  the  gradual 
gain  of  a  wheel  gathering  speed  from  its  own 
momentum.  Elaine  has  better  legs  than  the  most  of 
the  Messenger  Duroc  family,  and,  barring  Electioneer, 
was  b}^  far  the  best  of  Governor  Stanford's  purchases 
from  Mr.  Backman.  Her  daughter,  the  fleet  and 
beautiful,  but  ill-starred  Norlaine,  had  not  exactly  her 
action,  but  we  have,  at  Palo  Alto,  in  Anselma,  a 
daughter  of  Ansel's  and  her's,  a  young  mare  gaited 
exactly  like  Elaine. 


FRED    CROCKER.  115 

Even  in  tnese  fast  days  two-year-olds  that  can  trot; 
in  2:25^  are  rather  scarce,  and  when  we  remember  that 
the  record  of  2:31,  which  So  So  made  at  Lexington, 
Kentucky,  in  1877,  stood  unchallenged  for  three 
years,  it  is  easy  to  understand  the  sensation  made  by 
Fred  Crocker  and  Sweetheart  in  ISSO,  for  untd  that 
3'ear  no  one  had  ever  seen  a  two-3^ear-Gld  that  could 
beat  2:30. 

Fred  Crocker  was  foaled  March  23,  1S7S,  the  son  of 
Electioneer,  and  Melinche,  a  mare  by  old  Saint  Clair, 
whose  history  we  have  already  referred  to.  He  was  a 
well-shaped  bay  colt,  and  has  developed  into  a  tall  and 
stout  good-looking  horse.  I  broke  him  in  the  winter 
of  1880,  little  having  been  previously  done  with  him, 
as  Governor  Stanford  had  decided  not  to  trot  any  colts 
under  three  years  of  age.  The  summer  previous  he 
and  Eentonian,  son  of  Gen.  Benton,  had  shown  the 
best  of  all  our  yearlings  lot-trotting,  and  it  was  exer- 
cising these  youngsters  in  this  way  that  we  first 
thought  of  the  idea  of  the  miniature  track  that  has 
since  plaved  so  great  a  part  in  our  system  of  training. 
At  the  proper  place  the  evolution  of  this  "  kinder- 
garten" will  be  fully  related.  In  the  spring  of  1880, 
the  directors  of  the  California  State  Fair  advertised  a 
stake  race  for  two-year  olds,  and  then  Governor  Stan- 
ford reconsidered  his  resolution  about  not  trotting 
colts  under  three  years  old.  AYe  pitched  upon  Fred 
Crocker  as  the  most  likely  one  of  our  two-year-olds  to 
represent  the  farm  in  the  stake,  and,  on  June  5th,  I 
began  preparing  the  young  gelding  for  the  event.  I 
found  that  he  could  brush  fast,  but  could  not  go  a 
quarter  faster  than  forty-five  seconds.     I  worked  him 


116  TRAINING    THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 

along  on  a  sort  of  compromise  between  the  old  and 
the  new  way  of  training  colts,  very  seldom  working 
full  miles,  but  giving  him  a  good  manj^  fast  halves,  and 
under  this  treatment  he  progressed  very  well,  but  not 
so  fast  as  we  have  since  brought  along  youngsters 
whose  early  education  was  more  intelligently  directed. 
Tlie  race  was  advertised  for  September  15th,  at  Sacra- 
mento. We  were  not  over-confident,  for  we  knew  that 
Mr.  L.  J.  Eose's  filly  Sweetheart,  by  Sultan,  had 
trotted  in  3:07  as  a  yearling,  and  the  reports  of  the 
doinofs  of  the  Los  An  oleics  mare  were  verv  favorable. 
She  won  the  stake  in  straight  heats— 2:31|,  2:32J — 
but  Crocker  gave  her  a  good  race,  and  in  the  esti- 
mation of  many  the  second  heat  should  have  been, 
awarded  to  him.  The  next  dav — the  same  day  that 
Capt.  Smith  beat  Del  Sur,  as  already  related — Mr. 
Eose  sent  his  great  mare  against  So  So's  tw^o-3^ear-old 
record  (2:31),  and  she  beat  it  handsomely  in  2:26^,  and 
all  California  w^as  fired  with  honest  pride,  for  a  Cali- 
fornian  youngster  had  beaten  the  two-year-old  record 
of  the  world,  and  those  who  foretold  the  great  possi- 
bilities of  the  State  as  a  horse-breeding  region  felt  that 
their  arguments  had  been  eloquently  and  conclusively 
vindicated.  It  was  a  great  day  for  the  flowery  land 
south  of  the  Sierra  Madre  range — a  great  day  for  the 
San  Gabriel  farm,  for  the  popular  Mr.  Eose,  and  for 
Sultan.  And  w^hile  w^e  of  the  Palo  Alto  neighborhood, 
believing  that  California  should  have  the  tw^o-year-old 
record,  rejoiced  and  were  proud  of  Sweetheart's  per- 
formance, we  still  thought  that  the  record-holder 
should  hail  from  the  Santa  Clara  valley,  rather  than 
the  San  Gabriel  Valley,  and  accordingly  set  to  work  to 


CHAMPION   TWO-YEAR-OLD.  117 

eclipse  Sweetheart's  triumph.  We  were  handicapped 
by  Crocker's  having  a  bad  leg,  and  we  had  to  proceed 
cautiously ;  and  finally  the  leg  gave  way  altogether, 
but  not  until  he  had  done  what  was  asked  of  him.  So, 
on  the  day  that  Elaine  raced  with  Santa  Claus,  we 
started  Crocker  to  beat  2:30,  and  he  did  it  in  2:28^,  and 
a  week  later  —  November  20th  —  he  started  to  beat 
2:28J,  and  not  only  did  that,  but  broke  Sweetheart's 
record,  trotting  the  mile  at  the  third  attempt  in  2:25^, 
and  he  was  at  once  the  sensation  of  the  day.  Palo 
Alto  had  achieved  its  first  great  triumph  as  a  "  nursery 
of  trotters,"  and  Electioneer  had  given  thus  early  an 
earnest  of  what  he  would  accomplish  with  time  and 
opportunity  as  a  producer  of  phenomenal  trotting- 
speed.  Still  no  one  dreamed  then  that  the  triumphs 
of  Palo  Alto  would  be  what  they  have  been — no  one 
dreamed  that  Fred  Crocker  was  a  forerunner  of  that 
glorious  host  of  record-breakers  that  have  so  irresisti- 
bly demonstrated  the  greatness  of  its  blood  and  the 
fitness  of  its  methods  of  breeding  and  training. 


118  TRAINING   THE   TROTTING    HORSE. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE    GREAT   TRIO,  WILDFLOWER,  BONITA  AND  HINDA  ROSE 

WILDFLOWER,  THE  TWO-YEAR-OLD  CHAMPION  OF  HER 
DAY BONITA  A  GREAT  TWO-YEAR-OLD,  AND  CHAM- 
PION FOUR-YEAR-OLD HINDA  ROSE,  CHAMPION  YEAR- 
LING AND  CHAMPION    THREE-YEAR-OLD  OF    HER   TIME 

HER   GREAT    CAMPAIGN  OF  1883 HOW    SHE    WAS    SHOD 

AND    BALANCED THE    CAREER  OF  THE    FASTEST  YOUNG 

TROTTERS    THAT    HAD    YET     BEEN    PRODUCED A    STORY 

OF     RECORD-BREAKING     BY     PALO     ALTO    COLTS HINDA 

rose's     famous     brother,    ST.     BEL HIS     PURE     GAIT, 

AND    HIS    RESOLUTE    PERFORMANCES. 

The  next  two  year-old  sensation  after  Fred  Crocker 
was  the  bay  filly  Wildflower,  by  Electioneer,  out  of 
Mayflower,  by  St.  Clair.  Mayflower  was  an  old-time 
California  trotter  herself,  having  a  record  of  2:30^,  and 
besides  Wildflower,  she  produced  the  famous  mare 
Manzanita,  who  holds  the  four-^^ear-old  record  of  the 
world.  Wildflower  was  foaled  March  23,  1879.  Al- 
though I  did  not  handle  her  in  her  babyhood  or  drive 
her  to  her  record,  I  studied  her  in  all  her  work,  and 
became  very  thoroughly  acquainted  Avith  her  after- 
ward. Wildflower  had  perhaps  as  much  natural  speed 
as  any  animal  bred  at  Palo  Alto,  and  great  as  was  her 
two-year-old  achievement,  it  was  hardly  made  under 
the  most  favorable  auspices.  Wildflower  was  not 
judiciously  worked  in  her  two-year-old  form — indeed, 


119 

she  was  greatly  overworked — and  it  is  but  fair  to  say 
that  she  had  never  shown  anything  to  warrant  the  ex- 
pectation that  she  would  beat  Fred  Crocker's  record. 
Indeed  her  doing  so  was  a  genuine  surprise  to  all,  and 
to  none  more  than  her  driver.  But  owing  to  bad 
weather  and  other  causes  she  got  just  the  rest  she 
needed,  and  was  fresh  and  full  of  speed  when  the  hour 
of  trial  came.  This  was  the  22d  of  October,  1881,  at 
the  Bay  District  Track,  San  Francisco.  She  was 
driven  by  Henry  MacGregor,  and  he  drove  her  with 
much  patience  and  excellent  judgment.  She  took  the 
word  at  the  first  score,  went  to  the  quarter  in  0:35^; 
to  the  half  in  1:09|^ ;  made  the  third  quarter  in  0:35^, 
and  finished  m  2:21 — thus  handsomely  beating  the  two- 
year-old  by  four  and  a  quarter  seconds,  and  setting  a 
mark  that  the  world  aimed  at  in  vain  for  seven  years, 
and  that  was  not  beaten  until  another  Palo  Alto  filly — 
Sunol — did  it  in  1888. 

My  first  trip  from  Palo  Alto,  aiming  at  conquest  on 
Eastern  tracks,  was  with  Wildflower  and  Hinda  Eose, 
in  1882.  AVe  started  the  former  at  Fleetwood  Park, 
New  York,  October  5,  1882,  in  a  three-year-old  stake 
worth  winning  against  Meander,  by  Belmont,  Senator 
Sprague,  Lucy  Walters,  and  Ernest  Maltravers.  She 
won  the  first  heat  very  easily  in  2:32.  Maltravers 
Avas  then  drawn,  and  in  the  second  heat,  which 
Wildflower  won  in  2:2Ti,  Lucy  Walters  and  Sena- 
tor Sprague  were  distanced.  Meander  getting  second 
money.  This  is  the  only  race  that  Wildflower  ever 
trotted.  She  had  no  further  enD:ao:ements  in  the 
East  that  year,  and  after  Hinda  Rose  iiad  filled  hers 
we  returned  home,     i'he  next  spring  when  we  again 


120  TKAINING    THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 

crossed  the  mountains  Wildflower  got  down  with  dis- 
temper, from  which  she  has  never  recovered  and  the 
evidence  of  which  she  will  always  carry.  She  broke 
out  in  sores,  which  have  left  their  scars,  and  the 
membranes  of  the  nostrils  were  so  affected  that  she 
"  whistles "  in  her  ordinary  breathing.  This  attack 
Avas  very  unfortunate,  for  we  expected — and  had  a 
right  to  expect — brilliant  things  of  Wildflower  in  her 
maturer  years.  She  was  a  great  mare  after  the  Fleet- 
wood race,  and  could  most  undoubtedly  have  pla\^ed 
with  any  three  year-old  of  her  year.  She  was  a  pure- 
gaited,  easy-going  mare,  had  abundant  natural  speed, 
and  was  game  and  resolute.  She  would  respond  to 
the  extent  of  her  abihty  to  every  call.  She  is  now  a 
fine-looking  brood-mare,  and  has  alread}^  given  evidence 
that  it  is  not  unreasonable  to  expect  that  some  of  her 
children  will  be  as  great  as  herself. 

The  little  mare  Bonita  was  another  wonderfully  fast 
two  year-old,  and,  more  fortunate  than  Wildflower, 
encountered  nothing  to  prevent  her  training  on  "to 
greater  things."  She  was  foaled  May  21,  1879,  and  is 
bred  in  lines  of  blood  almost  identical  to  those  of 
Wildflower  and  Manzanita,  being  by  Electioneer,  out 
of  Mayfly,  2:30i,  by  St.  Clair.  Mayfly  was,  like  May- 
flower, among  the  fastest  Calif ornian  trotters  of  twenty 
years  ago,  and  it  is  something  of  a  coincidence  that 
these  two  daughters  of  St.  Clair,  great  trotters  in  their 
day  and  with  records  almost  equal,  should  each  in  her 
turn  produce,  by  the  one  sire,  a  daughter  to  break  the 
four-year-old  record  of  the  world.  It  is  only  another 
proof  that  speed  is  not  accidental,  but  an  inherent 
quality  of  the  blood.     Though  from  the  loins  of  Elec- 


THE    FAST    LITTLE    BONITA.  121 

tioneer  greatness  has  sprung  in  all  places  and  flour- 
ished in  all  directions,  the  success,  in  a  speed-producing 
sense,  of  the  combination  of  his  blood  with  that  of 
these  trotting-daughters  of  old  St.  Clair  has  been  most 
striking,  and  has  brought  the  name  of  the  plebeian 
old-timer  out  of  the  obscurity  that  would  have  forever 
enveloped  it  but  for  the  speed  of  Electioneer's  gifted 
daughters — Manzanita,  Bonita  and  AYildflower. 

Bonita  Avas  worked  in  her  younger  days  by  Henry 
McGregor,  and  shortly  after  Wildflower  took  her  2:21 
record,  Bonita  made  a  two-year-old  record  of  2:24|, 
thus  placing  the  first,  second  and  third  fastest  two- 
year-old  record  to  the  credit  of  Palo  Alto.  Had 
Bonita  accomplished  this  hefore  Wildflower  trotted  in 
2:21  it  would  have  made  a  great  sensation ;  but  good 
as  her  performance  was,  it  was  made  under  the  shadow 
of  the  dazzling  feat  of  Wildflower.  The  glamor  thrown 
around  the  latter's  achievement  made  the  record  of  the 
former  seem  somewhat  commonplace,  and  the  applause 
was  measured  accordingly.  Whether  you  are  first  or 
second  makes  all  the  difference  in  the  world. 

I  worked  Bonita  as  a  three-year-old,  but  did  not 
start  her  that  year,  I  being  most  of  the  season  in  the 
East  with  Hinda  Rose  and  Wildflower.  But  she  was 
taken  East,  in  1883,  in  company  with  the  mares  just 
named,  and,  after  an  unsuccessful  start  against  Eva  and 
others,  at  Chicago,  had  a  walk-over  at  Hartford,  for  a 
four-year-old  stake,  October  l:th.  The  day  was  bad 
and  no  attempt  was  made  to  go  a  fast  mile,  but  Bonita 
showed  the  public  a  quarter  in  thirty-one  and  three- 
fourths  seconds.  The  four-year-old  record  of  2:19  that 
had   been   made  by  Ja\^-Eye-See   still   stood,  and,  as 


122  TRAINING   THE   TROTTING    HjRSE. 

Bonita  had  now  rounded  to,  I  determined  to  send  her 
against  it. 

This  was  done  at  the  Lexington  meeting  October 
11th,  and  the  rapid  httle  mare  beat  old  Father  Time 
in  fine  style  in  2:18i,  thus  putting  another  best  on-record 
to  the  credit  of  the  Electioneers.  As  already  stated 
our  horses  did  not  campaign  in  ISS-l,  nor  did  we  start 
Bonita  in  1885,  though  she  was  kept  in  training.  In 
the  spring  of  1886  she  was  sold  to  Colonel  Lawrence 
Kipp,  of  New  York,  and  in  due  time  went  into  the 
hands  of  my  friend,  James  Golden,  of  Boston,  who 
campaigned  her  down  the  Grand  Circuit  in  the  2:19 
class,  where  she  encountered  such  good  race-horses  as 
Arab,  Mambrino  Sparkle  and  Oliver  K.  She  won  at 
Alban}-,  beating  Felix  and  Billy  Button  in  2:21,  2:20i, 
2:19i,  and  at  Hartford  she  defeated  Charles  Hilton, 
'Charley  Hogan,  William  Arthur  and  Felix  in  straight 
heats  in  2:22^^,  2:18^,  2:20f,  thus  lowering  her  record  a 
fraction.  Later  she  was  sold  to  Mr.  Shults,  of  Park- 
ville,  and  campaigned,  but  with  no  success,  and  as, 
indeed,  none  of  the  Parkville  horses  have  been  very 
successful,  it  may  be  that  Bonita,  a  difficult  mare  to 
train  and  manage  at  best,  and  a  somewhat  "  sour  "  one, 
did  not  take  kindly  to  the  training  at  the  big  Long 
Island  Farm. 

Hinda  Rose  was  our  first  youngster  that  earned 
fame  at  the  early  period  of  yearling  form.  She  was 
foaled  February  22,  1880,  and  is  a  brown  mare,  by 
Electioneer,  out  of  Beautiful  Bells,  2:29^,  by  The  Moor, 
the  sire  of  Sultan.  Beautiful  Bells,  all  things  consid- 
ered, is  the  greatest  producer  of  speed  that  ever  lived. 
Four  of  her  get  are  in  the  2:30  list,  and  two  of  them— 


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HOW    HIND  A    ROSE   WAS    WOKKED.  12'3 

Bell  Bo}^  and  Hinda  Rose — beat  2:20  in  their  three 
3^ear  old  form,  while  another — Palo  Alto  Belle — has  a 
three-year-old  record  of  2:22^.  The  dam  of  Beautiful 
Bells  was  Minnehaha,  the  dam  of  Sweetheart,  and  four 
others  in  the  2:30  list ;  so  our  filly  was  bred  well  enough 
for  a  world-beater  to  begin  with.  She  was  well  broken 
earh^,  and  in  her  yearling  form  I  began  working  her. 
Her  serious  training  began  Jul}^  5,  1881 ;  I  had  now 
gotten  well  into  the  Palo  Alto  system  of  training,  and 
could  work  "  the  new  fangled  ideas  "  pretty  skillfully. 
She  was  worked  on  the  method  described  in  cha]:)ters 
further  on,  until  Xovember  5th,  the  date  of  her  first 
public  performance.  The  yearling  record  was  then 
2:56f ,  and  at  the  Bay  District  Track  a  set  of  harness 
was  offered  to  yearlings  to  trot  against  this  record. 
The  first  trial  was  made  by  the  filly  Pride,  by  Bucca- 
neer, owned  by  Count  Yalensin,  and  driven  by  John 
Goldsmith,  who  has  since  handled  Guy  Wilkes,  Sable 
Wilkes,  and  other  horses  so  successfully  for  Mr.  Cor- 
bitt.  Pride  made  the  mile  in  2:11^.  I  then  drove 
Hinda  Rose  and  she  went  from  wire  to  wire  in  2:13|^. 
On  the  21:th  we  gave  her  another  trial,  when  she  went 
in  2:36|-,  and  this  stood  as  the  yearling  record  until 
1888,  when  it  was  lowered  successfully  by  the  Ken- 
tucky filly,  Sudie  D,  and  our  lost  Palo  Alto  star,  Xor- 
laine.  In  her  two-year-old  form  Hinda  Rose  was  quite 
Tinsteady.  She  had  carried  a  nine-ounce  shoe  as  a  year- 
ling,  and  in  her  first  easy  work  as  a  two-\^ear-old  I 
began  with  her  barefooted,  the  only  weight  she  carried 
being  her  quarter  boots.  Then  she  was  lightly  shod, 
and  still  acting  as  tho^igh  she  wanted  more  weight  to 
balance  her,  I  kept  increasing  until  she  carried  eighteen 


124  TRAINING    THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 

ounces.  She,  as  I  have  said,  acted  unsteadily,  and  the 
then  superintendent  of  Palo  Alto  declared  that  the 
fault  was  in  her  head,  that  her  dam  was  rattle-headed^ 
and  that  before  Hinda  Kose  ever  amounted  to  any- 
thing the  driver  would  have  to  furnish  her  with  "a 
new  set  of  brains."  My  next  experiment  was  to  take 
off  the  shoes,  and  drive  her  barefooted  awhile.  Then 
I  put  on  eight-ounce  shoes,  and  fixed  her  out  with 
three-ounce  toe-weights.  I  would  jog  her  about  two- 
miles,  and  when  ready  to  speed  would  put  on  the  toe- 
weights.  I  had  no  more  trouble  with  her  after  this,, 
and  she  was  trained  successfully  in  this  wa}^  without 
performing  an}^  operation  on  her  brain.  According  to 
the  old-fashioned  rule,  I  should  have  kept  on  piling  on 
weight,  but  when  I  got  up  to  eighteen  ounces  I  con- 
cluded that  we  had  got  past  the  right  point,  and  would 
have  to  0*0  back  and  start  over  ao^ain.  More  horses  are 
suffering  from  carrying  too  much  weight  than  from 
carrying  too  little  weight. 

I  took  Hinda  Kose  East  in  1882,  as  she  was  engaged 
in  a  stake  race  at  Lexington.  She  had  a  good  field 
against  her,  those  that  afterward  became  most  noted 
being  Fugue,  2:17^,  by  King  Kene;  Early  Dawn,  2:21^^ 
Wilkes  Boy,  2:21:i,  and  Lizzie  Wilkes,  2:22f,  a  great 
ao^crreo^ation  of  Wilkes  talent.  I  need  not  take  up  the 
reader's  time  in  details  of  the  race.  Fugue  won  the 
first  heat  in  2:36i,  distancing  two  of  the  field,  Lexing- 
ton AViikes  and  Strathblane.  Then  Hinda  Eose  went 
on  and  won  the  second  heat  in  2:32,  distancing  all  but 
Fugue,  and  in  the  deciding  heat  she  easily  beat  Fugue 
in  the  same  time, 

Hinda  Rose  opened  her  campaign  of  1888  at  Chi- 


HIND  A    ROSE    AND    ELVIRA.  125 

cago,  July  20th,  starting  for  the  Ashland  Stakes,  for 
three -year-olds,  against  the  great  Glenview  mare 
Elvira,  by  Cuyler,  and  Major  MacDowelFs  Fugue. 
Hinda  won  the  race  in  straight  heats  without  much 
trouble.  She  moved  a  trifle  lame  before  the  race,  but 
won  the  first  heat  from  Fugue  in  a  jog  in  2:31^,  the 
track  being  heavy.  Elvira  made  a  bid  for  the  second 
heat,  but  could  not  drive  Hinda  Rose  out  faster  than 
2:29f,  which,  however,  left  Fugue  outside  the  flag. 
The  third  heat  we  won  very  easily  from  Elvira  in 
2:31J.  Hinda  Rose's  next  race  was  at  Cynthiana, 
Kentucky,  where  she  again  easily  beat  Fugue,  in  an 
uneventful  contest ;  and  at  Lexington,  a  week  later,  she 
won  the  Mechanical  Stakes  in  straioht  heats,  beatino: 
Fugue,  Lizzie  Wilkes  and  Early  Dawn,  trotting  the 
third  heat  in  2:23  We  had  Hinda  Rose  entered  in  the 
three-year-old  stake,  worth  82,500,  of  the  Xational 
Breeders'  Association,  so  we  now  journeyed  Xorth  to 
Hartford,  Connecticut,  to  win  it.  The  fastest  three- 
3^ear-old  record  at  this  time  was  2:21,  made  by  Phil 
Thompson,  at  Chicago,  in  1S81.  As  Hinda  Rose  was 
now  rounding  into  great  form,  I  determined  to  send  her 
against  that  record  at  Hartford.  It  so  happened  that 
no  other  three-year-old  cared  to  meet  her  for  the  rich 
stake,  and  she  had  a  walk-over  ;  but  the  public  knew 
better  after  the  walk-over  than  before  it  that  there  was 
no  three-year-old  on  the  turf  that  could  give  Hinda 
Rose  a  race.  The  day,  October  3d,  was  raw,  cold  and 
windy,  the  track  heavy  and  damp  in  spots,  and  the 
conditions  not  at  all  favorable  for  record-breaking.  She 
trotted  the  first  quarter  in  thirty-four  seconds,  went  to 
the  half  in  1:10,  and,  though  meeting  a  strong  wind 


126  TRAINING   THE   TROTTING    HORSE. 

when  she  turned  into  the  stretch,  she  made  the  second 
half  as  fast  as  the  first,  finishing  the  mile  without  a 
skip  or  a  falter  in  2:20.  In  the  full  flush  of  this  honor 
she  went  to  Lexington,  and  on  October  10th  eclipsed 
her  own  performance.  AVilkes  Boy  and  Fugue  started 
against  her  in  the  stake  for  three-year-olds  at  this 
meeting.  It  is  not  necessary  to  take  much  space  to 
tell  so  short  a  story  even  though  the  race  resulted  in 
putting  on  record  a  mark  that  stood  unbeaten  for  four 
3^ears.  The  first  two  heats  she  had  only  an  exercise 
jog  in  2:2Si  and  2:32,  but  in  the  third  heat  I  drove  her 
for  a  record,  and  she  trotted  the  mile  in  2:19^,  Wilkes 
Boy  and  her  old  enemy  Fugue  being  distanced.  Fugue 
was  a  good  mare,  but  she  could  never  meet  Hinda 
Rose  at  any  time  or  place  but  she  met  her  master. 

With  this  race  Hinda  Kose  finished  her  campaign  of 
1883  in  a  blaze  of  glory.  She  had  won  everything  she 
started  for  durmg  the  year,  never  being  beaten  a 
single  heat,  and  outclassing  everything  of  her  age  in 
the  East. 

Hinda  Rose  did  nothing  in  public  in  1884  beyond 
trotting  a  mile  in  2:20^  at  San  Francisco  in  an  unsuc- 
cessful attempt  to  beat  Elvira's  four-year-old  record  of 
2:18^,  which  we,  after  failing  with  Hinda  Rose,  suc- 
ceeded in  beating  witn  Sallie  Benton.  Though  Hinda 
Rose  was  in  our  stable  in  the  East  in  1885  she  was 
never  ready  to  start,  and  in  1886  she  only  started  once, 
at  Lexington,  October  1st,  where  she,  in  company  with 
Tom  Rogers,  C.  F.  Clay  and  Olaf,  was  beaten  by 
Patron ;  but  the  defeat  was  handsomely  avenged  a 
few  days  later  at  St.  Louis  by  her  stable-companion 
Manzanita,  when,  in  a  great  race,  she  defeated  Patron 


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THE    BLACK    COLT    ST.    BEL.  127 

for  the  champion  four-year-old  honors.  Hinda  Eose 
was  not  herself  either  in  18S5  or  1886,  showing  symp- 
toms of  breaking  down,  which  precluded  a  proper 
preparation.  Indeed,  as  in  the  case  of  Wildflower, 
though  of  course  to  a  much  smaller  extent,  distemper 
left  its  permanent  effect  on  Hinda  Eose.  We  have 
waited  and  worked  patiently  but  vainly  with  this  great 
mare  in  recent  seasons,  hoping  that  she  would  stand 
training  again,  beheving  that  if  she  could  be  thor- 
oughly prepared  she  would  trot  to  a  record  "not  far 
from  the  head." 

The  black  colt  St.  Bel  was  the  third  member  of  the 
Beautiful  Bells  family  in  point  of  age,  and  was  the 
next  after  Hinda  Eose  to  earn  distinction  on  the  turf. 
I  broke  him  at  eight  months  old,  and  had  him  going 
nicely  for  his  age,  when  I  went  East  in  1883  with 
Hinda  Eose,  Bonita  and  AVildflower.  On  returning,  I 
found  him  and  Manzanita  somewhat  broken  up,  and 
both  were  some  time  in  ''roundino^  to"  ao^ain.  He  did 
not  make  his  first  public  appearance  until  1885,  in 
which  year  he  accompanied  the  stable  in  its  Eastern 
campaign.  His  maiden  race  was  on  a  muddy  track  in 
the  "JN'ational  Trotting -Stallion  Stakes  for  foals  of 
1882,"  at  Albany,  September  14th,  and  he  won  it  easily 
in  straight  heats,  quite  outclassing  his  only  opponent, 
and  not  having  to  go  faster  than  2:45  to  win.  This 
was  his  only  start  in  1885,  but  he  was  a  colt  that 
took  his  work  well  and  showed  steady  improve- 
ment, and  was  quite  a  "bread-winner"  in  our  sta- 
ble the  following  season,  although  he  contracted  a 
severe  cold  crossing  the  mountains  that  year.  Hi& 
initial  race  was  at  Maysville,  Kentucky,  August  18th, 


12S  TRAINING    THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 

ill  the  2:35  class,  and  there  were  among  others  in 
the  field  Baron  Wilkes,  Strathblane,  Oriana  and 
Guitar,  that  are  all  performers  of  good  reputation. 
St.  Bel  won  in  straight  heats,  trotting  the  first  heat  in 
2:2Sf,  the  time  of  the  other  heats  being  2:30  and  2:31. 
Two  days  later  he  started  in  the  2:27  class,  the  best 
material  in  the  field  against  him  being  iistral,  that  has 
now  a  record  of  2:18,  and  Olaf,  present  record  2:22. 
St.  Bel  had  not  shown  liking  for  trotting  in  compan3\ 
He  suffered  all  summer  from  the  effects  of  his  cold 
and  lacked  education  especialh^  in  scoring.  He  would 
break  badly  in  starting,  and  as  a  temporary  expedient 
I  put  a  little  weight  on  him  and  it  did  steaih^  him,  but 
took  away  some  of  his  speed.  Olaf  won  the  first  and 
second  heats  in  2:23,  2:21^,  St.  Bel  second  in  each,  and 
in  the  third  heat  St.  Bel  beat  Olaf  to  the  wire  in  2:2-11, 
but  the  latter  won  the  deciding  heat  in  2:22f .  On  the 
25th,  St.  Bel  easily  beat  a  field  of  six  in  the  2:35  class 
at  Covington,  in  straight  heats,  in  2:27f,  2:29,  2:29. 
Three  days  later  he  got  third  place  in  a  field  of  ten, 
the  winner  being  the  feay  gelding  Clipper.  It  was  a 
five-heat  race,  and  St.  Bel  did  better  in  the  last  heats 
of  the  race  than  at  the  beginning  for  he  was  always 
resolute.  Greenlander  won  the  first  heats  in  2:24^, 
2:25,  St.  Bel  being  seventh  and  eighth.  The  third  heat 
Clipper  won  in  2:23^,  Greenlander  second,  and  St.  Bel 
fourth.  In  the  fourth  and  fifth  heats  St.  Bel  beat 
Greenlander  out,  finishing  second  in  each.  He  did 
himself  credit,  for  though  he  had  scarcely  speed  enough 
that  day,  he  showed  great  stamina.  The  horse  that 
fights  a  game  and  determined  losing  battle  meets  the 
true  race-horse  test.     In  his  next  race  St.  Bel  demon- 


ST.    BEL    SOLD.  129 

strated  that  he  was  a  stayer  in  a  still  more  emphatic 
manner.  This  was  at  the  Cleveland  Fall  Meeting, 
September  loth,  when  we  started  him  against  a  strong 
field  of  aged  horses  in  the  2:25  class.  St.  Bel  was  only 
four  years  old,  while  with  the  exce]:)tion  of  Issaquena, 
five  years  old,  the  others  ranged  from  seven  up,  and 
with  a  single  exception  everv  one  has  a  record  faster 
than  2:24,  Hiram  Miller,  2:22f,  and  Billy,  2:23f,  mak- 
ing their  records  that  day.  Hiram  Miller  won  the 
first  heat  in  2:23f ;  Lottie  K,  second ;  Hunter,  third ; 
Wallace,  fourth ;  Mambrinette,  fifth  ;  St.  Bel,  sixth, 
and  Little  Billy,  Issaquena  and  Justina  bringing  up  the 
rear.  Little  Billy  won  the  next  heat  in  2:27^,  and  in 
the  third  heat  St.  Bel  drove  him  out  in  2:23|.  Then 
St.  Bel  went  on  and  beat  his  field  gallantly  in  2:25, 
2:25,  2:25i,  outlasting  and  outtrotting  them  all  at  the 
end.  The  next  day  it  was  raining  when  a  gentleman 
and  lady  came  to  our  stables  to  look  over  the  horses. 
They  were  Mr.  J.  C.  Sibley,  of  Franklin,  Pa.,  and 
Mrs.  Sible}",  and  having  been  in  California  the  conver- 
sation turned  on  Electioneer.  In  speaking  of  his  sons 
I  said :  "I  think  St.  Bel  will  make  a  great  stock  horse," 
and  referred  to  his  exceptionally  good  action.  When 
my  visitors  left  I  had  no  idea  that  they  thought  of  buy- 
ing St.  Bel,  but  shortly  after  the  purchase  was  made, 
and  Mr.  Sibley  secured  him  for  $10,000 — perhaps  the 
best  bargain  that  ever  went  from  the  Palo  Alto 
stables. 

From  Cleveland  we  went  to  Albany,  where  St.  Bel 
had  a  walk-over,  and  then  made  our  way  southwest 
again  for  the  great  St.  Louis  Fair,  where  our  stable 
had  important  engagements.     St.  Bel  started,  October 


130  TRAINING  THE  TEOTTING  HORSE. 

5th,  in  the  2:25  class,  against  Astral,  Alert,  Consul  and 
other  seasoned  campaigners.  Astral  and  Alert  were 
the  favorites,  and  the  former  won  the  first  heat  in 
2:22 J.  In  the  second  heat  Astral  and  Almont  led  into 
the  stretch,  but  St.  Bel  finished  strong  on  the  winner's 
wheel  in  2:2 J:,  Almont  getting  the  heat ;  and  the  third 
heat  St.  Bel  beat  Alert  home  in  2:25.  I  drove  for  the 
next  head  and  led  to  the  turn  into  the  stretch  where 
St.  Bel  made  a  wild  break  and  lost  a  great  deal  of 
ground,  but  he  went  fast  after  he  got  his  feet  again, 
finishing  second  to  Astral  in  2:22^,  and  the  big  mare 
just  beat  him  out  in  a  driving  finish  in  the  last  heat 
in  2:23. 

St.  Bel  is  a  handsome  black  horse,  a  trifle  under  the 
medium  size,  but  verv  compact,  stoutly  muscled  and 
highly  finished.  He  is  one  of  the  purest  gaited,  and, 
perhaps,  the  most  perfectly  balanced  horse  that  I  ever 
sat  behind,  and,  as  for  his  speed,  I  can  say  that  I  think 
I  have  ridden  behind  him  as  fast  as  I  ever  rode  in  a 
sulkj^  He  wore  ten-ounce  shoes  in  front  as  a  rule.  As 
I  have  already  mentioned,  St.  Bel  could  never  do  him- 
self full  justice  in  his  last  campaign.  He  developed  a 
splint  that  season  which  made  us  cautious,  and  inter- 
fered with  his  training,  and,  besides,  he  suffered  all 
the  season  from  the  effects  of  a  cold  contracted  in 
crossing  the  mountains.  Though,  for  these  reasons, 
he  could  not  do  himself  full  credit  in  the  matter  of 
speed  alone,  his  gameness  and  resolution  made  it  neces- 
sar}'  for  another  horse  to  have  a  good  deal  more  speed 
than  he  had  to  beat  him  when  the  heats  were  split. 
He  is  what  I  may  call  a  round-gaited  horse ;  his  gait 
is  perfect  for  a  race  horse,  true,  rapid  and  direct,  w^ith- 


ST.    BEL^S    PURITY   OF   MOVEIMENT.  131 

out  the  slightest  friction.  He  seems  to  roll  along 
without  effort,  right  on  top  of  his  gait  as  if  it  were  a 
wheel,  and  when  he  increases  his  speed  to  its  utmost 
limit  there  is  no  sprawling,  spreading,  or  striking  a 
certain  position,  but  just  a  gradual,  smooth  increase 
after  the  manner,  as  I  have  said  of  Elaine,  of  a  w^heel 
gathering  speed  from  its  own  momentum.  He  has  a 
splendid  head— both  as  to  its  beauty  and  as  to  the 
qualit}^  of  brain — and  this,  in  addition  to  his  compact, 
muscular  make-up,  his  pure  action  and  his  great  blood, 
should  make  St.  Bel  a  successful  sire.  I  shall  expect 
to  see  him  prove  like  Electioneer  in  power  to  get 
trotters  out  of  thoroughbred  mares,  or,  indeed,  out  of 
almost  any  kind  of  a  mare,  w^hile  from  choice  se- 
lected mares  his  colts  should  be  sensational  young 
trotters. 


132  TEAINING   THE   TROTTING   HORSE. 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE    GREAT    FOUR-YEAR-OLDS    OF     1886  —  MANZ ANITA    AND 

PALO    ALTO THE    BREEDING,    TRAINING    AND    HISTORY 

OF    MANZANTTA THE     MEMORABLE     THREE  -  YEAR  -  OLD 

BATTLES  OF  1885 MANZANITA   BEATS   PATRON,  SILVER- 
ONE,    EAGLE    BIRD    AND    GREENLANDER    AT    CHICAGO 

THE  SMART  MEN   DISCOVER  A  "  QUITTER "  AND  PAY  FOB 

THE    INFORMATION THE    MEMORABLE    RACE    FOR    THE 

GASCONADE    STAKES    AT   THE    ST.    LOUIS    FAIR PATRON 

WINS    THROUGH    BAD    STARTING A    GREAT    STABLE    IN 

1886. 

The  main  reliance  of  our  stable  in  its  successful 
campaign  of  1886  was  placed  in  the  two  great  four- 
year-olds  Manzanita,  full  sister  to  Wildflower,  and 
Palo  Alto,  by  Electioneer,  out  of  the  thoroughbred 
mare  Dame  Winnie,  by  Planet.  Manzanita  was  faster 
than  Palo  x\lto  as  a  four-year-old,  and  indeed  the  fact 
is  that  had  she  stood  training  to  his  age  she  would 
most  certainly  have  taken  a  record  closer  to  2:10  than 
2:12.  There  was  no  four-year-old  of  her  year  that 
could  give  Manzanita  a  race,  and  her  easy  defeat  of 
Patron  demonstrated  that  fact  so  conclusively  that  our 
good  Kentucky  friends  could  almost  see  it.  Barring 
Patron,  it  is  doubtful  if  any  four-year-old  outside  of 
our  stable  could  beat  Palo  Alto,  so  that  we  had  the 
races  for  that  age  practically  at  our  mercy.     But  this 


.     MANZAXITA    AND    PALO    ALTO.  133 

condition  of  things  was  not  without  its  disadvantages, 
for  Manzanita  and  Palo  Alto  were  compelled  to  trot,  if 
they  trotted  at  all,  against  aged  horses,  and  in  consider- 
ing their  campaign  the  reader  will  not  forget  that 
(except  in  stake  races  for  four-year-olds)  they  were 
compelled  to  concede  years  of  age  to  their  opponents ; 
and  whatever  we  may  believe  as  to  mere  speed,  age 
undoubtedly  tells  in  a  long  and  trying  race. 

Taken  on  her  public  performances  alone,  Manzanita 
must  be  adjudged  one  of  the  most  remarkable  trotting- 
mares  that  this  fast  age  and  the  fast  family  from  which 
she  sprung  has  produced,  but  to  fully  appreciate  her 
real  worth  one  must  know  what  the  public  does  not 
know — must  know  the  ailments  and  the  mishaps,  in 
spite  of  which  she  was  the  champion  of  her  age ;  and 
after  all  she  has  publicly  accomplished  under  these 
handicaps  her  real  capacity  has  never  been  shown  to 
the  world,  for  she  broke  down  just  at  the  height  of 
her  powers,  and  when  to  an  absolute  certainty  she  was 
on  the  eve  of  trotting  to  a  record  faster  than  any 
mare,  with  the  single  exception  of  Maud  S.  and  Sunol, 
has  ever  made.  This  mav  not  meet  the  approbation  of 
some  critics,  who,  knowing  nothing  whatever  of  the 
real  facts  concerning  Manzanita's  history,  her  s])eed  or 
her  capacity,  and  who  may  have  seen  her  in  one  race 
or  who  may  have  never  seen  her  at  all,  presume  to 
judo^e  of  her  adversely,  basing  their  whole  judgment 
on  the  cast-iron  and  preconceived  opinion  that  nothing 
great  could  come  from  her  "  plebeian-bred  dam,"  May- 
flower— that  the  blood  of  St.  Clair  must  necessarily 
carry  "softness"  with  it.  However,  as  I  trained  and 
drove  this  great  mare  throughout  her  career,  I  will,  I 


134  TRAINING    THE    TKOTTING    HORSE. 

trust,  not  be  considered  presumptuous  in  assuming  that 
I  have  had  a  rather  better  chance  to  form  a  correct 
opinion  of  what  class  of  trotter  Manzanita  really  was 
than  the  general  public  have  had,  and  the  estimate  I 
have  given  above  of  her  qualitv  is  a  conservative  one. 
If  it  errs  at  all  it  errs  certainly  not  on  the  side  of 
flattery. 

Mayflower,  the  dam  of  Manzanita,  "encumbered 
with  fore-shoes  which  weighed  nearly  two  pounds  each, 
and  with  rolls  of  shot  almost  as  ponderous  on  each 
fore  pastern,  made  a  mile  in  2:30^  "  back  in  the  days 
when  that  was  "  about  the  top-notch  in  California." 
Her  first  foal,  by  Electioneer,  Avas  May  bell,  the  dam  of 
Maralia,  2:25  j- ;  the  second  was  the  distinguished  Wild- 
flower,  whose  history  has  already  been  given,  and  the 
third  was  Manzanita.  She  was  foaled  Februar}^  2, 
1882,  and  grew  into  a  splendidly-made  light  bay  mare, 
about  15  hands  high,  with  a  well-cut  head,  a  long, 
nicely-shaped  neck,  heavy  shoulders,  lengthy  barrel, 
with  a  strong  though  rather  straight  back  and  stout, 
muscular  quarters;  and  her  "traveling-gear"  was  good 
from  the  ground  up. 

Manzanita  was  broken  in  her  yearhng  form  and 
showed  great  promise  on  the  miniature  track.  If  it 
w^as  true  that  "lot-trotters"  never  amount  to  anything, 
we  should  not  have  taken  the  trouble  to  train  Man- 
zanita, but  we  did  not  pa}^  anj^  more  attention  to  such 
"  wise  old  saws  "  then  than  we  do  now.  She  kept  on 
improving  until  I  left  for  the  East  in  1883,  but  on  my 
return  the  boys  had  a  sorrowful  story  to  tell  about  the 
mare  whose  future  we  had  all  built  hopes  upon.  They 
assured  me  that  she  "  was  no  good,"  that  she  "  could 


manzaxita's  misfortunes.  135 

not  untrack  herself,"  and,  to  cap  the  climax,  they  pro- 
nounced her  "foundered."  However,  I  did  not  give 
her  up  as  wholly  degenerate ;  in  four  or  five  months 
there  was  no  sign  of  "founder,"  and  she  could  show 
me  a  quarter  in  0:42 — or  say,  a  2:50  gait.  In  her  year- 
ling form  she  attempted  to  come  out  of  her  box  when 
the  upper  half-door  was  closed.  She  got  her  foreparts 
out  all  right,  and  then  naturally  raised  herself,  the 
door  taking  her  across  the  back  at  the  most  sensitive 
spot — right  over  the  kidneys.  The  result  was  that  her 
hind  parts  were  practically  paralyzed,  and  the  sprawl- 
ing and  dragging-motion  of  these  parts  plainly  pointed 
to  severe  injury  across  the  loins  and  in  the  region  of 
the  kidneys.  It  took  two  months  of  assiduous  treat- 
ment  and  care  before  she  could  jog  well ;  and,  indeed, 
I  cannot  say  that  she  ever  recovered  from  the  injury, 
for,  as  will  be  seen  further  on,  she  was  attacked  more 
than  once  with  this  partial  parah'sis  in  her  campaigns. 
After  we  had  gotten  her,  seemingly,  over  this  disaster, 
and  she  could  trot  along  in  about  2:40,  another  barrier 
loomed  up  across  her  path.  She  threw  out  a  nasty 
curb,  and  I  thought  of  giving  her  up  for  the  year.  But 
after  looking  over  the  material  I  had  in  training,  I 
could  not  reconcile  myself  to  the  idea  of  turning  the 
filly  out — for,  in  spite  of  her  ill-luck  and  consequent 
backwardness,  I  liked  her — and  decided  to  endeavor  to 
keep  on  training  her  and  treat  the  curb  at  the  same 
time.  The  double  task  was  successfully  acccomplished. 
I  cured  the  curb  with  iodine — the  application  of  w^hich 
I  will  refer  to  at  another  place-^and  on  the  day  that 
Sallie  Benton  lowered  the  four-year-old  record  to 
2:17f  I  drove  Manzanita  to  a  two  year-old  trial  of  2:25 


136  TRAINING    THE   TROTTING    HORSE. 

She  accompanied  the  stable  East  in  her  three-year- 
old  form,  and  had  walk-overs  in  her  two  first  engage- 
ments—  the  Annual  Nursery  Stake  and  the  Stallion 
Stake  for  three-year-olds.  The  stakes  were  worth 
$1,250  and  $750  respectively,  and  we  were  "in  luck'^ 
in  having  no  opposition,  for  the  mare  was  far  from 
i-igljt.  Her  old  ailment,  partial  paralysis  in  the  rear 
quarters,  attacked  her,  and  she  grew  worse  before  we 
left  Albany,  so  much  so  that  I  hesitated  about  shipping 
her  to  Chicago  with  the  rest  of  the  stable,  fearing  the 
risk.  However,  she  went  with  the  stable,  and  rounded 
to  sufficiently  to  start  at  Chicago,  September  25th, 
though  she  had  not  wholly  recovered  from  her  Albany 
sickness. 

The  field  was  the  best  three-year-old  material  of  the 
year.  Patron,  Silverone,  Eagle  Bird  and  Greenlander 
are  names  that  all  trotting  horsemen  will  remember  as 
giants  of  the  three-year-old  class  of  that  great  three- 
year-old  3^ear  1885.  George  Fuller  was  behind  Patron, 
Crit.  Davis  drove  Greenlander,  Maxwell  took  care  of 
Silverone,  and  Eagle  Bird  had  the  advantage  of  Badd 
Doble's  piloting.  Before  the  first  heat  Eagle  Bird  was 
the  favorite,  Manzanita  second  choice,  while  the  after- 
wards mighty  Patron  was  the  outsider  in  the  betting. 
AYe  scored  nine  times  before  we  got  the  word  from 
Charles  M.  Smith,  the  starter,  and  Patron  at  once 
rushed  to  the  pole,  and  led  to  the  home-stretch,  where 
Eagle  Bird  closed  up,  and  I  also  sent  Manzanita  up  to 
Patron  s  head.  There  was  a  short  and  sharp  fight  in 
the  stretch,  but  Manzanita  beat  the  Kentucky-bred 
youngsters  at  the  finish,  winning  the  heat  in  2:23|, 
Patron  beating  Eagle  Bird  for  second  place.     In  the 


PATRON^S   DEFEAT.  137 

second  heat  Manzanita  got  away  a  little  back,  but  re- 
gained the  pole  before  they  went  a  quarter,  and  com- 
ing on  won  without  any  great  exertion  in  2:23^  from 
Eagle  Bird.  The  backers  of  Eagle  Bird  and  Patron 
were  now  in  trouble,  and  Manzanita  sold  a  three-to-one 
favorite  over  the  field.  The  next  was  a  warm  heat,  as 
a  blanket  would  have  covered  Manzanita,  Patron  and 
Eagle  Bird  from  the  start  to  the  three-quarter  pole, 
where  they  were  racing  head  and  head.  Half-way  up 
the  stretch  I  had  Patron  and  Eagle  Bird  beaten,  and 
begun  to  ease  up  a  little,  when  Silverone  unexpectedly 
came  with  a  great  rush,  carried  Manzanita  to  a  break, 
and  won  by  about  a  length  in  2:25f.  Silverone,  I 
rather  think  had  the  speed  of  the  party  that  day,  but 
had  to  go  back  to  the  one-eighth  to  score,  which  killed 
her  chances.  Xow  all  the  wise  men  of  the  turf  talked 
of  jManzanita,  and  were  dead  sure  she  was  "a  quitter" 
and  "done  for,"  and  acting  on  the  hasty  conclusion 
dumped  good  money  into  '*  the  box  "  against  her.  It 
would  have  been  just  as  well  invested  in  Lake  Michi- 
gan, for  in  the  last  heat  Manzanita  made  the  pace  so 
strong  from  the  half  that  she  had  things  her  own  way 
in  the  f^tretch,  and  won  by  two  or  three  lengths  in 
2:241 

The  "  talent,"  after  losing  hard  in  learning  the  simple 
lesson  that  it  is  a  fool's  act  to  jump  at  sudden  conclu- 
sions, had  a  tiresome  and  disconsolate  task  in  figuring 
out  how  it  was  that  a  sore  three-year-old  filly  trotted 
two  heats  in  2:23^,  quit  in  2:25f,  and  then,  after  being 
"  dead  beat,"  "  quitting,"  "  setting  down,"  and  all  that 
sort  of  thing,  came  back  easily  in  2:2-1^  in  the  fourth 
heat.      There   is   this    peculiarity  about   men    whose 


138  TRAINING  THE  TROTTING  HORSE. 

chief  sharpness  consists  in  finding  quitters.  They  first 
look  at  a  colt's  breeding  and  they  find  a  strain  that 
some  old  campaigner  has  sworn  by  all  the  stable-oaths 
is  "soft."  They  put  it  right  down  in  their  book  that 
that  colt  not  only  will  quit  but  m  ust  quit.  Then  when 
he  comes  on  the  turf  they,  before  they  have  ever  seen 
him,  solemnly  impart  the  information  to  all  their 
friends  that  that  colt  is  a  quitter.  And  it  don't  matter 
how  he  trots,  win  or  lose,  whether  he  is  a  game  one  or 
not,  whether  he  is  sick  or  well,  whether  he  loses  a  heat 
by  an  accident,  by  a  break,  or  is  beaten  b}^  a  speedier 
horse,  these  sharp  turfites,  having  once  said  that  a 
horse  7nust  he  a  quitter,  consider  themselves  under  a 
solemn  obligation  to  carry  that  belief  intact  to  their 
graves.  And  every  time  they  back  their  theory  and 
lose,  they  believe  in  it  all  the  harder,  like  the  Salvation 
Army  men  who  declare  that  unless  we  keep  on  "  believ- 
ing hard  "  we  will  lose  our  faith.  Xothing  will  convince 
some  talented  observers  of  trotting-horses  that  they 
ever  made  a  mistake  about  anything,  and  especially 
about  ''  quitters  "  that  they  know  nothing  of.  I  have 
often,  in  remembering  the  criticisms  passed  on  Smug- 
gler and  Manzanita,  thought,  "  What  fools  these  mor- 
tals be." 

The  close  and  logical  observer  will  never  jump  at  a 
conclusion  about  the  qualities  of  a  race-horse.  You 
must  see  him  not  in  one  race,  but  in  several  races,  and 
you  must  know  about  his  condition  in  his  races  before 
you  can  determine  that  a  horse  is  faint-hearted.  The 
most  resolute  horse  in  the  world  will  not  trot  resolutely 
if  he  be  ailing,  and  he  cannot  trot  resolutely  if  his 
physical   machinery   be   out   of   repair.     The  gamest 


MANZ ANITA   AT    ST.    LOUIS.  139 

horse  will  "  stop  "  if  short  of  work,  and  if  you  do  not 
know  that  he  has  had  sufficient  work,  that  he  is  not 
sore  or  sick,  how  are  you  going  to  know  whether  he 
"  stops  "  from  physical  causes,  or  from  true  quitting^ 
which  is  a  mental  quality — cowardice,  faint-hearted- 
ness  ? 

Manzanita's  next  race  was  at  the  St.  Louis  Fair  of 
1886  in  the  Gasconade  Stake,  and  that  race  will  long 
be  remembered  as  a  battle  royal  between  the  best  field 
of  three-year-olds  that  has  perhaps  ever  faced  a  starter. 
The  field  against  Manzanita  was  composed  of  Patron, 
driven  by  Fuller;  Silverone,  driven  by  Maxwell;  Eagle 
Bird,  with  Simmons  in  the  sulky;  lona,  driven  by 
Bowerman,  and  the  two  Princeps  stallions  Granby 
and  Greenlander — all  the  best  three-year-olds  of  the 
year,  in  fact.  There  were  100,000  people  on  the  Fair 
Grounds  that  day.  Eagle  Bird  got  away  in  front,  with 
Manzanita  second,  and  she  disposed  of  Mr.  Simmons' 
roan  stallion  at  the  half.  Patron  made  a  strong  fight 
in  the  stretch,  but  my  mare  carried  me  home  in  front 
with  something  to  spare  in  2:23|^.  In  the  next  heat  it 
was  Silverone  that  challenged  Manzanita  in  the  stretch, 
and  she  came  so  fast  that  the  Blue  Grass  cheers  began 
to  swell,  but  they  died  away  with  true  Kentucky  loyalty 
when  Manzanita  beat  the  great  daughter  of  Alcyone 
out  in  the  final  tussle  in  2:21^.  When  Manzanita  came 
out  for  this  heat  she  was  so  sore  that  she  could  scarcely 
put  one  foot  on  the  ground,  but  she  warmed  out  of  it 
in  jogging.  Mr.  H.  D.  McKinney — better  known  as 
^'Mambrino"  McKinney — the  starter,  was  thinking  so 
much  of  the  Mambrino  blood  in  Patron  that  in  start- 
ing the  third  heat  he  forgot  the  very  first  of  a  starter's 


140  TRAINING   THE  .TROTTING    HORSE. 

duties — to  protect  the  pole-horse.  Patron  was  sent 
away  in  front,  lapped  by  Silverone  and  Eagle  Bird, 
with  Manzanita  away  back  and  shut  in  at  the  pole. 
The  start  was  so  unfair  that  even  the  local  reporters 
noticed  it,  and  the  turf  papers  mentioned  the  fact  in 
their  reports.  In  trying  to  rush  the  mare  through  to 
the  position  that  the  starter  deprived  her  of  I  forced 
her  to  a  break,  and  being  shut  off,  eased  her  up  and 
did  not  drive  for  the  heat,  which  Patron  won  from 
Eagle  Bird  in  2:23^.  The  public,  seeing  that  Man- 
zanita was  not  beaten  on  her  merits,  still  kept  her 
favorite  in  the  betting.  Patron  was  now  the  pole- 
horse,  and  he  was  very  carefully  protected,  getting 
away  in  front,  but  I  brought  Manzanita  up  from 
the  rear  and  carried  him  to  a  break  before  the  half 
was  reached,  and  led  to  the  three-quarters,  with. 
Silverone  and  Patron  close  up.  We  were  all  driv- 
ing for  all  we  were  worth  in  the  home-stretch,  but 
Patron  left  his  feet,  the  two  mares  fighting  it  out  to 
the  finish,  with  Silverone  just  beating  Manzanita  in 
2:24J.  Both  Silverone  and  Manzanita  broke  as  the 
word  was  given  in  the  fifth  heat,  and  I  at  once  saw 
that  it  was  best  to  lay  up  that  heat,  wherein  Silverone 
went  on  and  drove  Patron  out  in  2:24f.  The  starter 
ao^ain  "took  care"  of  Manzanita  in  the  sixth  heat,  and 
gave  a  start  that  can  only  be  explained  on  the  theory 
that  he  was  so  much  interested  in  the  great  race  that 
he  failed  to  watch  the  field  closely.  Even  yet  so  plain 
Avas  it  that  Manzanita  with  a  fair  start  could  win,  that 
she  sold  in  the  pools  for  $25  to  $20  over  the  entire 
field;  but  in  this  last  heat,  though  it  was  only  the  first 
score,  and  Manzanita  ran  all  the  way  up  the  score,  the 


AT    HOME    AGAIN.  141 

starter  gave  the  word,  sending  her  away  on  what  the 
Chicago  Horseman  properly  called  "  a  wretched  break." 
She  was  a  good  distance  out  before  she  settled,  and  of 
course  her  last  chance  was  killed  by  the  disgracefully 
bad  start.  Patron  won  in  2:26^.  Patron  was  a  good 
horse,  and  a  courageous  horse,  but  it  was  not  Patron 
that  beat  Manzanita  that  day.  Patron  met  Manzanita 
only  twice  under  fair  conditions  and  she  beat  him  both 
times,  and  had  she  been  given  an  even  start  she  would 
have  beaten  him  that  day,  just  as  decisively  as  she  did 
a  year  later.  And  in  sayino^  this  I  am  not  detracting 
from  the  merits  of  Patron  in  the  least.  I  always 
admired  him  as  a  true,  good  horse,  and  next  to  Man- 
zanita  one  of  the  best  of  the  youngsters  of  1885  and 
1886. 

At  the  close  of  the  St.  Louis  Fair  we  shipped  our 
stable  across  the  mountains  to  seek  refreshment  in  the 
winter-summer  of  their  home  fields,  and  to  prepare 
under  California's  genial  skies  to  make  greater  conquests 
in  1886.  And  when  we  were  ready  to  start  East 
again  we  had  the  most  formidable  stable  of  young  trot- 
ters  that  ever  crossed  the  Eockies.  There  were  in  it 
Manzanita  and  Palo  Alto,  then  just  about  inyincible  in 
their  class;  Hinda  Pose,  who  shared  with  Patron  the 
honor  of  the  fastest  three-year-old  record ;  the  good 
four-year-old  St.  Eel,  and  his  two-year  old  brother 
Chimes ;  the  promising  three-year-old  Sphinx,  and  the 
two-year-old  Suisun,  one  of  the  best  youngsters  we 
have  trained.  These  were  all  by  Electioneer,  and 
"though  stars  of  differing  magnitude,"  they  were 
all  stars  in  their  classes.  It  was  natural  that  we 
should  haye  expected  a  yery  successful  campaign  witli 


142  TRAINING    THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 

this  material,  and  the  best  evidence  of  the  realiza- 
tion of  our  expectations  was  that  furnished  by  the 
^National  Association  of  Trotting  Horse  Breeders  of 
deciding  to  in  future  bar  California  colts  from  their 
stakes. 


MANZANITA    AS   A    FOUR-YEAR-OLD.  143 


CHAPTER  XI. 

MANZANITA     AS    A    FOUR  -  YEAR  -  OLD  —  A     RACE     LOST    BY 

LAYING     UP    HEATS SHE     STARTS    AGAINST     A     GREAT 

FIELD    OF    AGED    HORSES    AT  CLEVELAND — LO AVERS  THE 

FOUR  -  YEAR  -  OLD     RECORD    TO     2:16^ BEATS     EAGLE 

BIRD    EASILY  AT    MAYSVILLE DEFEATS    GREENLANDER 

AT   LEXINGTON THE    FOUR  -  YEAR  -  OLD    RECORD    LOW- 
ERED    TO     2:16 WINNING    FROM     GREENLANDER   AND 

HAVERSTICK  IN  A  JOG THE  GLORIOUS  VICTORY  AT  THE 

ST.    LOUIS    FAIR    OVER    PATRON THE    DEFEAT  OF    1885 

WIPED   OUT,    AND   MANZANITA's     SUPERIORITY     AS    THE 

GREATEST    OF   FOUR  -  YEAR- OLDS     ESTABLISHED HER 

RETIREMENT HER     GREAT     QUALITIES     AS     A     RACE- 
MARE. 

Manzanita's  first  start  in  her  memorable  campaign 
as  a  four-year-old,  was  against  a  field  of  aged  horses 
in  the  2:21:  class  at  East  Saginaw,  Michigan.  As  else- 
Avhere  related,  on  my  return  from  Xew  York,  where  a 
consignment  of  oar  horses  went  for  sale,  I  found 
the  trotting  stable  sick  at  Louisville,  and,  after  the 
horses  rounded  to  and  were  well  over  the  effects  of  the 
long  journey,  we  went  to  Kalamazoo.  From  there  we 
shipped  to  East  Saginaw  to  take  a  hand  in  the  meeting 
at  that  place  in  July.  Palo  Alto  began  the  campaign 
for  the  stable  bv  beatino^  Wilton,  Lucv  Frv  and  a  o-ood 
field,  in  fast  time,  on  the  loth  and  16th,  and  Man- 
zanita's  race  was  set  for  the  ITth.     The  storv  can  be 


144  TEAINIXa   THE   TROTTING    HORSE. 

easily  told.  I  laid  Manzanita  up  in  the  first  two  heats 
which  Belle  Hamlin  won  in  2:21i  and  2:22J.  This  left 
me  in  sixth  place  for  the  third  heat  and  I  drove  for  it. 
From  the  first  turn  the  two  mares  had  it  nip  and  tuck  ; 
it  was  head  and  head  up  the  stretch,  and  Belle  just 
won  in  2:1  SJ.  Manzanita  was  separately  timed  in 
2:18,  and  she  went  a  long  mile,  trotting  around  the 
field  in  the  first  quarter.  I  laid  up  the  first  two  heats 
according  to  an  agreement  which  certain  other  parties 
failed  to  respect,  and,  undoubtedly,  the  breach  of  faith 
gave  Belle  Hamlin  the  race.  The  two  mares  far 
outclassed  the  rest  of  the  field.  Had  both  gone  for  it 
from  the  start,  Belle  Hamlin,  with  her  advantage  of 
three  3^ears  in  age — she  then  being  seven — would  have 
made  a  great  race  with  Manzanita.  From  East  Sagi- 
naw the  scene  shifted  to  the  Grand  Circuit  tracks,  and, 
in  the  2:23  class,  at  Cleveland,  July  28th,  the  two 
mares  met  again,  and  again  the  diplomatic  owner  of 
Belle  Hamlin  got  the  money.  Besides  the  mares  there 
were  in  the  field  such  hardened  campaigners  as  Long- 
fellow Whip,  Lowland  Girl,  Spofford,  Charles  Hilton 
and  Kitefoot — rather  formidable  company  for  a  four- 
year-old  filly  to  fight,  especially  in  combination.  In 
scoring  for  the  first  heat  Hilton  upset  Hickok  out, 
and  ran  away,  and  he,  of  course,  was  drawn.  When 
the  word  was  given  Belle  Hamlin  and  Lowland 
Girl  had  the  best  of  it,  and  went  away  at  a  hot 
pace,  going  to  the  quarter  in  0:31-,  and  the  half 
in  1:08.  I  trailed  about  a  length  behind  Lowland 
Girl,  and  my  mare  was  going  easy  enough  to  satisfy 
me  that  Belle  Hamlin  would  have  to  go  another  half 
in  1:08  or  I  should  have  a  word  to  sav  about  the  finish. 


THE   BELLE    HAMLIX    EACE.  145 

Kow  Lowland  Girl  gave  it  up,  but  Belle  kept  up  the 
clip  fast  and  hot,  and  at  the  three-quarters,  in  1:42|, 
^xe  were  lapped.  In  the  stretch  I  called  on  Manzanita, 
and  after  trotting  head-and-head  for  nearly  a  furlong 
with  Belle  Hamlin,  the  latter  ''  cracked,"  and  Man- 
zanita  won  in  2:16^,  lowering  the  four-year-old  record 
by  one  and  one-half  seconds  and  trotting  the  last  quar- 
ter in  thirty-three  and  one  half  seconds — a  2:14  gait. 
The  next  heat  Belle  Hamlin  was  laid  up,  and  Lowland 
Girl  and  Longfellow  Whip  undertook  to  entertain  me 
during  the  journey,  my  mare  winning  in  2:19^.  Man- 
zanita  broke  at  the  first  turn  in  the  next  heat,  and  I 
laid  her  up,  Belle  Hamlin  Avinning  from  Spofford  in 
2:1 8|^.  A  number  of  the  drivers  now  began  getting  in 
fine  work  on  the  score,  the  judges  failing  to  show 
ability  to  control  them ;  and  finally  Colonel  Edwards 
let  us  go,  with  Belle  Hamlin  well  in  the  lead  and  Man- 
zanita  away  back  of  the  field.  I  again  saw  it  useless 
to  move  for  the  heat,  and  Belle  was  never  headed,  win- 
ning in  2:19.  The  race  was  then  postponed  until  the 
next  day.  The  most  shameful  scoring  was  permitted 
by  the  judges  in  the  deciding  heat,  and  when  the}^  were 
finally  sent  off  at  the  tu^enty -fourth  score  Belle  Hamlin 
was  in  front,  and  none  of  us  could  ever  catch  her.  She 
won  in  2:1  S^.  The  Sjjirit  correspondent,  in  comment- 
ing upon  this  heat,  said  :  "  Manzanita  never  had  a  fair 
show  to  get  at  her  (Belle  Hamlin),  but  it  would  have 
been  in  vain,  anyway.  AY  hen  she  has  a  couple  more 
years  on  her  head  she  can,  if  right,  give  Belle  Hamlin 
or  any  other  in  her  class  a  red-hot  race." 

These  two  races  against  aged  horses  convinced  me 
that  we  had  a  gem  of  the  first  water  in  Manzanita^ 


146  TRAINING    THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 

especially  as  she  had  little  fast  work  in  her  prepara- 
tion. When  I  get  a  four-year-old  that  can  go  in  the 
old  and  tried  company  she  did,  where  every  heat  is 
better  than  2:20,  I  am  satisfied,  for  it  has  been  one  en- 
deavor of  my  life  to  be  a  reasonable  man. 

We  left  the  Grand  Circuit  line  for  the  South,  the 
colts  having  engagements  in  Kentucky,  and  Manza- 
nita's  next  race  was  in  a  four-year-old  stake  at  Mays- 
ville,  August  26th,  where  her  only  competitor  was 
Eagle  Bird,  who  could  not  give  her  the  semblance  of  a 
race.  I  gave  her  three  easy  miles  in  2:25^,  2:25J,  2:22. 
Her  next  race  was  one  of  the  same  kind,  in  that  she 
had  nothing  near  her  own  class  against  her.  This  was 
at  the  Lexington  Fair,  September  8d,  in  the  Association 
Stake  for  four-year-olds,  and  Greenlander  was  the 
only  competitor  that  faced  Manzanita.  I  jogged  the 
mare  the  first  two  heats  in  2:22  and  2:22^,  and  then 
distance  was  waived,  and  I  drove  her  the  mile,  without 
a  skip,  a  falter  or  a  waver,  in  2:16,  lowering  her  own 
record  by  a  quarter  of  a  second  and  making  a  four- 
year-old  mark  that  stands  unbeaten  to  this  day,  and 
one  that  has  never  been  equaled  or  even  approached 
in  a  race.  This  race  was  followed  by  a  walk-over  at 
Albany,  September  21st,  at  the  meeting  of  the  National 
Association  of  Trotting-Horse  Breeders.  As  Palo  Alto, 
St.  Bel,  Sphinx  and  Chimes  also  had  walk-overs  at  this 
meeting,  our  Eastern  friends  practically  conceded  that 
they  could  not  compete  with  our  colts  by  deciding  to 
bar  them  from  their  stakes  in  future. 

From  Albany  we  turned  southward  and  av  est  ward 
again  to  trot  at  the  Lexington  breeders'  meeting,  and 
at  the  "  Great  St.  Louis  Fair."     Manzanita  easily  beat 


PATRON   AND   MANZANITA.  147 

August  Haverstick  and  Greenlander  in  a  four-year-old 
race  at  Lexington  in  slow  time — for  her.  We  started 
Hinda  Eose  against  Patron,  and  the  latter  won  com- 
fortably enough  in  2:20^,  2:21^,  and  2:24^,  Hinda  Kose 
winning  the  first  heat  in  2:21  J.  In  their  three-year-old 
form  the  two  duels  of  Patron  and  Manzanita  had  been 
the  great  features  of  the  colt-racing  of  1885,  and  in  a 
manner  honors  were  easy,  each  once  defeating  the 
other.  All  this  made  the  prospective  meeting  between 
them  at  St.  Louis,  to  settle  the  question  of  supremacy 
and  demonstrate  which  was  the  greater  four-year-old, 
one  of  intense  interest.  Patron's  fine  form  at  Lexing- 
ton was  encouraging,  and  our  Kentucky  friends  were 
impatient  to  see  the  apple  of  their  e3^e  make  the  Palo 
Alto  mare  "  set  down,"  as  they  would  have  it,  at  St. 
Louis. 

So,  when  Patron  and  Manzanita  met  on  October  2d, 
it  was  the  event  of  the  day.  It  is  said  that  there  were 
many  more  than  one  hundred  thousand  people  on  the 
ground  that  day,  and  I  never  remember  to  have  seen 
so  dense  and  interested  a  crowd  as  was  packed  on  all 
sides  when  we  scored  for  the  word.  The  night  before, 
and  the  day  of  the  race,  the  Patron  party  were  fairly 
bubbling  over  with  confidence.  My  mare  had  im- 
proved steadily  with  every  race,  and,  although  I  did 
not  shout  it  on  the  grand  stand,  I  felt  sure  that  she 
was  better  that  day  than  she  had  ever  been  before. 
My  friend,  George  Fuller,  the  driver  of  Patron,  was  all 
confidence,  and  kindly  informed  me  in  advance  that 
"Patron  was  going  to  make  Manzanita  set  down,^'  and 
that  he  was  backing  his  horse  well.  I  told  him  that  my 
mare  was  right,  and  that  neither  Patron  nor  any  other 


148  TRAINING   THE   TROTTING    HORSE. 

four-year-old  could  make  ber  *'  stop.'^  As  a  friend  I 
advised  Fuller  in  all  sincerity  and  candor  not  to  back 
his  horse  for  veiy  much,  and  I  further  expressed  my 
belief  that  he  and  indeed  all  the  Patron  people  over- 
rated their  colt  and  under-rated  the  mare.  That 
slirewd  horseman,  Colonel  John  Y7.  Conley,  Avas  one  of 
those  who  backed  Manzanita.  When  talking  with  a 
party,  an  enthusiastic  Patron  man  told  him  that 
Patron  had  "gone  a  half  in  1:08."  Conley  quickly  re- 
joined: "But  Manzanita  went  two  halves  in  1:08  the 
other  day."  Colonel  Conley  came  to  me  for  my  opinion 
that  day,  and  told  me  that  Fuller  assured  him  that  he 
would  certainly  "make  Manzanita  stop."  I  told  the 
Colonel  that  if  Patron  beat  Manzanita  that  day  he 
would  see  the  greatest  four-year  old  race  that  was  ever 
seen  on  earth.  The  Colonel  stuck  to  the  mare  with 
confidence  and  pluck,  while  all  the  gentlemen  who 
had  discovered  her  "soft  spot"  a  year  before,  with 
customary  fatuity,  bet  their  money  that  she  would 
"stop."  The  betting  was  even  before  the  first  heat, 
with  Eagle  Bird,  who  was  of  no  consequence  in  the 
race,  almost  unbacked  at  any  price.  I  mention  these 
details  of  betting  and  of  opinion  for  the  reason  that  it 
was  said  after  the  race  that  Patron  was  not  right. 
Xow  if  he  was  not  himself  why  did  his  driver  and  his 
friends  bet  their  money  with  such  freedom  and  con- 
fidence? Surely  Fuller,  his  trainer  and  driver,  knew 
whether  he  was  right  or  not.  He  was  a  good  horse 
a  little  while  previous  at  Lexington,  and  I  have  not 
any  doubt  that  he  was  as  good  a  horse  that  day  as 
ever  he  was  up  to  that  time.  It  took  a  good  four-year- 
old  to  trot  the  race  he  did,  and  the  simple  explanation 


t  < 

Z     Q 


-[^ 


jg3>"y<j  yvf^j 


TUEF   TALK.  Ii9 

of  it  all  is  that  he  met  his  master,  and  his  friends 
sought  quite  unsuccessfully  to  find  an  excuse  for  a 
performance  that  needed  none. 

As  to  the  race,  Patron  had  the  pole  and  Eagle  Bird 
the  outside,  with  Manzanita  between  them.  Mr. 
McKinney,  the  starter,  had  trouble  in  getting  us  away, 
and  warned  me  to  keep  Manzanita  well  back,  which 
Avould  have  been  easier  to  do  if  the  others  could  score 
with  her.  Finally,  after  about  a  dozen  scores,  the 
starter  succeeded  in  getting  the  field  of  three  off  fairly 
well,  and  Fuller  at  once  started  out  '•  to  make  some- 
thins-  crack."  I  laid  Manzanita  rio'ht  at  Patron's 
shoulder,  and,  when  he  passed  the  quarter  in  0:34,  I 
was  enjoying  a  comfortable  ride.  Xow  he  made  the 
pace  hotter,  but  at  the  half,  in  1:07^,  Manzanita  was 
huo^Dfino^  him  still  closer,  and  I  had  not  made  a  move 
behind  her  yet.  I  was  not  ver}^  anxious  when  we 
passed  the  three-quarters,  locked  head  and  head  in 
1:41|^,  for  the  mare  was  going  something  within  herself 
and  Patron  was  out  to  the  last  link  and  straining  hard. 
The  pace  was  hot  and  fast,  but  the  mare  never  flinched. 
Turning  into  the  stretch  I  said  jocosely  to  Fuller,  "  Hit 
him  on  the  back."  Fuller  looked  around  with  an 
expression  I  shall  not  forget,  and  shouted,  "  I'll  beat 
you  yet,"  whereat  I  answered,  ''  Well,  let  us  go  along 
a  little  this  heat,",  for  I  did  not  realize  how  fast  we  had 
trotted  it  so  far.  Manzanita  abated  not  in  her  speed 
in  the  stretch,  but  maintained  the  killing  pace  with 
absolute  evenness,  and,  though  Patron  made  a  game 
struggle,  he  was  not  the  filly's  match,  and  broke  just 
the  wrong  side  of  the  wire,  Manzanita  winning  in 
2:1 7f.     The  fill}^  cooled   out   to  please  me,   did   not 


150  TRAINING  THE  TROTTING  HORSE. 

"  blow  "  the  least,  and  I  considered  that  race  as  good 
as  won.  I  found  in  the  previous  heat  that  the  footing 
was  best  just  about  one  position,  or  sulky-width,  from 
the  pole,  and  as  soon  as  the  word  was  given  in  the 
second  heat  I  took  that  ground.  I  did  not  drive  the 
mare  any  faster  than  w^as  necessary,  allowing  Patron 
to  keep  close  company,  and  won  it  in  hand  by  half  a 
length  in  2:1 9 J.  Fuller  now  saw  he  was  beaten,  but  I 
afterward  heard  that  the  owners  of  Patron  gave  him 
great  encouragement  in  the  remark:  "You  have 
always  said  you  can  make  her  stop,  and  we  believe  you 
can."  The  heat  had  been  an  easy  one,  and  the  mare 
showed  not  the  faintest  shadow  of  distress,  but  Fuller 
clung  to  the  forlorn  hope  founded  in  the  belief  that 
Manzanita  was  a  quitter,  and  so,  in  scoring  for  the 
third  heat,  he  was  full  of  "snap,"  and  evidently 
intended  to  try  to  "  make  her  set  down  "  by  hard  scor- 
ing. We  scored  ten  or  eleven  times  very  fast,  but  the 
wear  and  tear  of  this  business  was  not  telling  on  the 
horse  it  was  intended  for.  Finally  we  went  aw^ay  with 
Fuller  attempting  to  find  that  "  soft  spot "  that  was  to 
help  him  out.  He  found  it— but  in  the  wrong  place. 
At  the  word  1  again  took  the  position  I  wanted  and 
led  Patron  a  merrier  dance  than  he  really  enjoyed.  We 
w^ent  down  the  back-stretch  at  a  red-hot  clip,  with 
Patron  under  a  hard  drive  and  the  mare  gradually  but 
surely  wearing  him  down.  The  pace  made  his  head 
swim,  and  just  after  we  passed  the  half  in  l:08i  he 
gave  it  up  in  a  tired,  heart-broken  break.  He  w^as  an 
utterly  beaten  horse,  and  Manzanita  came  home  alone 
in  2:20,  far  in  front  of  Eagle  Bird,  who  passed  Patron 
after  his  collapse.     The  victory  was  brilliant,  but  the 


PATRON  AGAIN  DEFEATED.  151 

race  was  a  very  easy  one  for  Manzanita,  and  the  work 
so  helped  her  that  she  was  fit  the  next  day  for  the 
effort  of  her  life.  She  clearly  demonstrated  her 
superiority  over  Patron,  which  was  questioned  after 
her  race  against  him  the  year  previous.  We  have  not 
yet  seen  the  four-year-old  that  could  have  beaten  Man- 
zanita  that  day.  In  the  form  she  was  when  she  played 
with  Patron,  she  could  out-trot  and  out-stay  any  four- 
year-old  that  ever  lived.  She  had  so  much  speed,  and 
could  rate  so  well  from  wire  to  wire  that  nothing  of  her 
age  could  have  lived  with  her  for  a  mile,  and  certainly 
no  other  horse  could  have  even  made  as  good  an 
attempt,  vain  though  it  was,  as  did  Patron. 

As  to  Patron  I  may  say  here  that  I  did  not  wholly 
like  his  gait.  His  stroke  forward  was  quick,  but  some- 
what spasmodic  and  peculiar.  But  he  was  a  horse  of 
great  speed,  determmed  and  level-headed,  and  all  in 
all  was  one  of  the  greatest  young  horses  that  has  yet 
campaigned.  His  defeats  in  his  three  and  four-year-old 
form,  by  Manzanita,  were  nothing  to  his  discredit.  He 
had  a  superior,  and  it  was  no  disgrace  to  lower  his 
colors  to  the  champion  of  his  age.  He  was  not  first, 
but  he  was  next  to  first.  It  has  always  seemed  to  me 
that  Patron's  misfortune  was  that  his  trainer,  his 
owners  and  his  friends  have  over-rated  him  as  a  turf- 
horse,  and  have  asked  of  him  what  was  beyond  his 
capacity.  Their  confidence  in  his  ability  to  beat  Man- 
zanita, at  St.  Louis,  where  she  really  had  him  at  her 
mercy  every  yard  of  every  heat,  and  in  later  times 
their  attempting  to  beat  Atlantic  one  day  and  "  the 
demon,"  Clmgstone,  the  next,  and  then  asking  him  to 
campaign  against  so  great  a  horse  as  Prince  Wilkes, 


152  TRAINING    THE   TROTTING    HORSE. 

seems  to  me  evidence  of  the  lack  of  judgment  to  which 
I  refer.  A  good  horse  on  the  turf,  and  grandly  bred, 
he  will  be  sure  to  gain  further  honor  as  a  su^e  of 
trotters. 

I  have  referred  to  what  has  often  seemed  to  me  one 
of  Georo^e  Fuller's  occasional  errors  as  a  trainer — over- 
confidence — and  it  is  not  fair  that  I  should  not  tell  the 
rest  of  my  opinion  of  him.  To  put  it  short  I  know 
George  Fuller  to  be  not  only  an  able  and  very  superior 
trainer,  and  a  great  driver,  but,  as  a  man,  I  have  found 
him  upright,  honorable  and  manly — one  whose  word 
is  as  good  as  his  bond,  and  for  no  driver  have  I  more 
esteem,  and  in  none  have  I  greater  confidence. 

The  victory  at  St.  Louis  was  Manzanita's  last  race — 
a  fitting  close  to  a  very  brilliant  career.  We  trained 
her  the  following  year  with  the  intention  of  driving 
her  against  St.  Julien's  California  record,  2:12^.  She 
took  the  preparation  very  well,  and  all  was  ready  for 
the  attempt  at  Los  Angeles  that  fall.  But  I  gave  her 
a  last  trial  and  it  proved  one  trial  too  much.  I  drove 
her  a  quarter  in  0:30J,  and  she  shortly  after  broke 
down  in  a  pastern  suddenly  and  beyond  repair.  I  have 
not  the  least  doubt  tlmt  not  only  would  the  2:12|^  of 
St.  Julien  been  beaten,  but  that  she  would  most  cer- 
tainly have  taken  a  record  of  from  2:10  to  2:11|^.  This 
is  no  wild  estimate,  without  foundation,  but  a  con- 
servative and  safe  conclusion  based  on  wdiat  she 
actually  did  in  her  work. 

Her  retirement  at  the  early  age  of  five  was  unfortu- 
nate, in  so  far  as  her  own  record  goes,  for  had  she 
trained  on  to  the  age  when  the  average  horse  is  in  his 
prime  Manzanita  would  have  surprised  all  but  those 


153 

who  knew  her  best.  She  improved  with  age,  and  was 
of  the  kind  that  would  go  on  improving.  She  was  a 
good  feeder ;  had  pure  action,  carrying  ten-ounce  shoes 
forward;  had  nerve-force  enough  without  being  fret- 
ful or  irritable ;  improved  under  the  wear-and-tear  of  a 
campaign ;  had  a  good,  level  head ;  was  a  good  actor 
under  all  circumstances,  and  would  go  to  her  utmost 
limit  on  her  courage.  She  had,  in  short,  all  the  essen- 
tial qualities  of  a  great  race-mare.  As  to  her  game- 
ness,  all  I  have  to  say  is  that  I  knew  her  through  and 
through,  and  when  she  was  fit  and  well  she  was  game 
enough  to  suit  me,  and  I  am  not  suited  vfery  easily  in 
that  regard.  I  do  not  know  of  any  mare  I  would 
sooner  trust  for  a  brood-mare  than  Manzanita,  and 
with  life  and  a  fair  chance  in  the  stud  she  will  be 
pretty  sure  to  produce  something  that  will  do  credit  to 
so  great  a  dam.  She  started  eleven  times,  was  victo- 
rious eight  times,  and  two  of  her  defeats  were  by  an 
aged  horse.  She  had  not  the  cheap  honor  of  being  the 
best  racer  of  her  age  in  a  bad  year.  As  a  three-year- 
old  she  met  giants — met  the  best  fields  of  three-year- 
olds  that  had  ever  come  out  in  one  year,  and  captured 
more  than  her  share  of  honors ;  and  she  did  not  stop 
there,  but  came  out  as  a  four-year-old  and  demon- 
strated in  the  most  marked  degree  her  unquestionable 
superiority  over  the  same  champions  with  which  she 
battled  as  a  three-year-old,  and  she  lowered  the  four- 
year-old  record  to  a  point  which  none  have  surpassed. 
That  is  glory  enough  to  retire  upon  and  laurels  bright 
enough  to  remain  forever  fresh  and  green  in  the  annals 
of  the  trotting-turf. 


154:  TRAININa   THE   TKOTTING    HORSE. 


CHAPTEE  XII. 

PALO    ALTO,  THE    SON    OF   THE    THOROUGHBRED    MARE,  DA^IE 

WINNIE HIS    EARLY  PROMISE THE  NAME  OF  *'  PALO 

alto"    entrusted     TO     HIM     TO    UPHOLD ALMOST    A 

CLEAN    SWEEP   IN   HIS    CLASS  IN  1886 BEATING  AGED 

CAMPAIGi^ERS    IN    LONG    RACES ONLY    ONE    DEFEAT 

AND    EIGHT  VICTORIES NARROW  ESCAPE  FROM  DEATH 

BY    FIRE — THE     BRILLIANT     CAMPAIGN      OF      1889 

INVINCIBLE    AND    UNBEATEN RECORD,    2:1 2^. 

The  second  of  our  great  four-year-olds  in  the  1886 
campai^'n  was  the  now  famous  Palo  Alto,  Avhose 
record  of  2:12^  was  one  of  the  sensations  of  last 
season.  Palo  Alto  is  further  noted  as  being  the  only, 
horse  out  of  a  strictly  thoroughbred  mare  that  has 
ever  beaten  2:20  ;  and  his  performance  demonstrates 
that  it  is  quite  possible  to  unite  the  blood  of  a  positive 
and  potent  trotting  sire  with  that  of  a  good  repre- 
sentative of  the  running  race-horse,  and  get  the  action 
of  the  trotter  combined  with  the  finish  and  quahty  of 
the  thoroughbred. 

Palo  Alto  was  foaled  February  15,  1882,  and  was 
got  by  Electioneer  out  of  the  thoroughbred  mare 
Dame  Winnie  (the  only  thoroughbred  mare  that  ever 
produced  three  trotters  to  l)eat  2:30,  and  one  to  beat 
2:20),  by  Planet,  next  dam  by  imported  Glencoe,  and 
she  out  of  a  daughter  of  imported  Margrave,  etc.     "We 


o 

^    Q 

o  ^ 


155 

began  working  "  the  Dame  Winnie  colt "  as  the  others 
were  worked,  in  his  yearling  form,  and  he  trotted  from 
the  start.  At  two  years  old  he  came  directly  under 
my  charge,  and  his  impro\'Tement  was  marvellous. 
Excepting  Sunol  we  never  had  a  two-year-old  so 
promising  as  Palo  Alto,  and  for  those  who  do  not 
believe  that  those  that  trot  young  train  as  a  rule,  it 
will  be  in  order  to  note  that  these  two  most  precocious 
youngsters  have  the  fastest  records  to  the  credit  of 
Electioneer.  He  could  trot  a  quarter  in  0:33  as  a  two- 
3^ear-old,  and  he  showed  us  at  that  age  a  full  mile  in 
2;23|.  After  that  he  was  named  Palo  Alto,  for  then 
Governer  Stanford  thought  him  worthy  to  bear  the 
name  of  the  farm.-  He  was  always  a  favorite  with 
the  Governor,  owing  to  his  high  form  and  his  breed- 
ing, but  he  would  not  confer  the  name  Palo  Alto  upon 
'him  until  he  showed  himself  worthy  of  it.  His  two- 
year-old  trial  met  the  requirement. 

In  his  three-year-old  form  Palo  Alto  was  still  a 
great  colt,  but  not  as  good,  relatively,  as  in  his  two- 
year-old  form,  and  until  the  past  season  (1SS9)  he  has 
never  seemed  to  me  to  come  up  to  the  high  promise  of 
the  time  when  he  was  enthusiastically  named  Palo 
Alto.  The  spring  that  he  was  four  years  old  he  was  a 
very  siek  horse,  and  though  his  campaign  of  that  year 
was  splendidly  successful,  he  was  not  the  horse  he 
would  have  been  had  he  suffered  no  set-backs.  That 
season,  too,  he  developed  a  nasty  splint,  which  at  times 
troubled  him  quite  seriously.  He  was  also  lame  in  the 
hip  that  spring,  and,  on  Fuller's  advice,  I  consulted  the 
noted  veterinarian,  Dr.  Sheppard,  who  located  the 
trouble  and  successfully  prescribed  treatment. 


156  TRAINING   THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 

Palo  Alto  opened  our  campaign  of  1886  auspiciously 
at  Kalamazoo,  and  he  also  rounded  it  up  victoriously 
at  St.  Louis.  His  first  start  at  the  former  place  was  on 
June  29th,  in  the  3:00  class,  against  Victor,  by  Hermes,, 
and  four  or  five  others.  Palo  xilto  won  very  easily  in 
2:32|-,  2:33i,  2:33,  outclassing  his  field  entirely.  July 
1st  we  started  him  in  the  2:40  class  against  a  bet- 
ter field,  comprising  among  others  Col.  Bowers  and 
the  good  mare  Anniversary.  We  won  the  first  two 
heats  comfortably  in  2:30^  and  2:30J.  I  was  aware 
that  the  Grand  Circuit  was  ahead,  where  the  colt 
would  have  to  go  against  aged  horses,  and  I  wanted  to 
Avin  without  putting  him  out  of  the  2:30  class.  In  the 
third  heat  A»nniversary  crowded  me  so  hard  that  I 
slowed  up  to  avoid  beating  2:30,  and  the  pablic  jumped 
to  the  conclusion  that  she  "could  win  if  she  wanted 
to."  In  this  heat  Col.  Bowers  ran  away,  throwing  out 
his  driver,  McLaughlin,  and  breaking  several  of  his- 
ribs.  The  judges  called  it  no  heat.  In  the  next  heat 
I  went  off  at  a  hot  pace,  and  trotted  to  the  three-quar- 
ters in  1:45 — a  2:20  gait — and  then  almost  walked  home 
in  2:29i,  to  show  the  public  whether  Anniversary 
"  could  win  if  she  wanted  to  "  or  not.  Our  next  battle- 
ground was  the  fast  track  at  East  Saginaw,  where 
Palo  Alto  struck  hot  company  in  the  2:29  class.  .  There 
Avas  that  good  horse  Wilton  that  in  his  next  race  made 
a  record  of  2:19^,  and  the  fast  Blue  Bull  mare  Lucy 
Fry,  2:20f  (whose  dam  was  the  well-known  old  gray 
campaigner,  Kitty  Bates,  2:19),  besides  Frank  Middle- 
town  and  others.  I  had  third  position  at  the  start,  Lucy 
Fry  being  between  me  and  the  pole-horse,  Wilton  hav- 
ing the  bad  luck  to  draw  the  tenth  and  last  place  in 


PALO    ALTO   AND    WILTON.  157 

the  field.  It  was  not  unusual  for  Palo  Alto  to  blunder 
a  little  in  the  first  heat  of  a  race,  and  he  lost  his  feet 
just  as  we  got  off.  Wilton  shot  to  the  front  before  we 
had  o^one  far ;  Lucy  Fry  and  Palo  Alto  chased  him  up 
the  stretch,  but  failed  to  catch  him,  Wilton  winning 
in  2:2tl:,  with  my  colt  second.  Wilton  and  Palo  Alto 
had  it  to  themselves  from  the  start  in  the  second  heat, 
and  trotted  like  a  team  nearly  the  whole  route.  Mike 
Bowerman  called  on  Wilton  in  his  most  energetic  and 
approved  style  for  a  finish  ;  I  did  not  give  Palo  Alto 
any  peace  either,  and  he  won  the  heat  for  us  pretty 
handily  in  2:22.  It  was  now  late,  rapidly  getting  dark, 
and  the  judges  postponed  the  race  The  next  morning 
was  warm  and  the  track  was  fast.  The  race  was  con- 
fined really  to  Wilton,  Palo  Alto  and  Lucy  Fry,  the 
rest  having  no  chance  with  these.  Lucy  was  quick  at 
the  start,  and  generall}"  got  away  in  front  of  us.  but  in 
both  the  third  and  last  heats  she  was  overtaken  by 
Bowerman  with  his  pony,  and  myself  with  the  four- 
year-old  colt,  before  she  got  much  more  than  round  the 
first  turn.  In  each  heat  Wilton  made  a  great  fight, 
and  the  two  horses  were  so  closely  matched  that  the 
slightest  mistake  mio^ht  have  chano^ed  the  result.  In 
both  heats  I  managed  to  beat  him  in  the  last  hundred 
yards  by  very  hard  driving,  the  time  being  2:22  and 
2:20^.  This  race  showed  that  Palo  Alto  was  a  good 
race-horse,  for  Wilton  had  just  as  much  and  probably 
a  shade  more  speed  than  Palo  Alto  then  had,  and  he 
had,  moreover,  the  advantage  of  two  3^ears  in  age.  A 
four-year-old  record  of  2:20^  in  a  fourth  heat  would 
have  been  highly  creditable  under  much  more  favor- 
able circumstances. 


158  tkaininCt  the  trotting  horse. 

The  close  and  exciting  contest  at  East  Saginaw 
showed  Wilton  and  Palo  Alto  to  be  jDretty  well 
matched, and  as  both  were  entered  in  the  $5,000  stake 
for  the  2:30  chiss,  to  be  trotted  July  22d  at  Detroit, 
that  event  became  decidedly  interesting.  Palo  Alto 
had  not  had  a  sufficient  preparation  to  meet  the  strain 
of  a  fighting-race  like  that  at  Saginaw  without  feehng 
its  effects,  and  he  was  not  as  good  a  horse  at  Detroit 
as  he  was  at  Saginaw.  He  was  a  trifle  muscle-sore, 
and  consequently  unsteady  when  the  pinch  came. 
There  were  only  five  starters  in  the  race,  the  now 
famous  Guy  with  Splan  behind  him  being  one,  but 
about  all  the  good  he  did  that  day  was  to  make  trouble 
at  the  start,  and  give  exhibitions  of  various  ways  of 
going,  exchisive  of  the  trot.  He  has  kept  up  his  reputa- 
tion, thouo^h  when  he  takes  it  in  his  head  to  trot  he  is 
"  a  whirlwind  "  sure  enough.  Palo  Alto  went  into  the 
air  at  the  start  in  the  first  heat,  and  I  just  steadied 
him  and  made  no  move  for  the  heat.  Wilton  never 
was  headed  and  won  in  fine  style  in  2:19|.  The  next 
heat  I  kept  Wilton  pretty  close  company  all  tlie  way, 
but  Palo  Alto  left  his  feet  in  the  stretch  and  lost 
the  heat  in  2:19i.  In  the  third  heat  Palo  Alto  made 
a  still  better  fight,  and  had  the  best  of  it  at  the  head 
of  the  stretch.  He  carried  Wilton  to  a  break,  but  just 
at  the  critical  moment  he  broke  also,  by  which  time 
Wilton  had  recovered  and  come  fast  to  the  wire, 
^vinning  the  third  heat  and  the  big  stake  in  2:20  flat. 
Palo  Alto  was  beaten,  but  he  ^vas  by  no  means  dis- 
graced in  this  the  only  defeat  he  has  ever  met.  Indeed 
this  race  is  a  brighter  mark  in  his  brdliant  career  than 
many  of  his  easy  victories  for  the   best  test  a  race 


CAMPAIGNING.  159 

horse  can  meet  is  to  make  a  ^ood  fight  against  odds, 
and  struggle  bravely  and  with  undaunted  courage 
throughout  a  losing  battle. 

Palo  Alto's  next  race  was  at  the  Cleveland  Grand 
Circuit  Meeting,  in  the  2:29  class,  July  22d.  The  field 
was  not  nearly  of  the  class  that  he  was  in  at  Detroit, 
and,  though  he  lost  the  first  heat  to  Mabel  A.  in  2:23J, 
he  won  the  subsequent  heats  too  easily  to  call  for  any 
lengthy  remarks.  Clipper  and  Mabel  A.  were  the  best 
of  the  lot,  and  they  finished,  alternately,  second  and 
third,  Palo  Alto  winning  in  2:23,  2:22^,  2:21|^,  improv- 
ing as  the  heats  went  on. 

At  Covington,  Kentucky,  August  2Sth,  he  met  a  fast 
field  in  the  2:20  class,  among  them  being  old  Deck 
AVright,  Tom  Rogers  and  C.  F.  Clay.  I  decided  that  my 
best  chance  for  victory  was  in  letting  the  rest  do  the 
fighting  for  awhile,  and  so  I  laid  Palo  Alto  up  in  the 
first  three  heats.  Tom  Rogers  won  the  first  in  2:20|-, 
and  Deck  AYright  the  second  in  2:22^.  As  my  time 
for  action  was  at  hand  I  trotted  for  a  fair  position 
only  in  the  third  heat,  finishing  third  to  Tom  Rogers 
in  2:23J.  Then  I  cut  Palo  Alto  loose  and  won  the 
race  in  2:22f,  2:25^,  2:24|,  Palo  Alto  again  demon- 
strating that  his  forte  was  staying  rather  than 
"sprinting.'' 

At  Cleveland,  September  18th,  he  again  met  fast  and 
thoroughly  seasoned  company  in  Harry  Roberts,  the 
perennial  Deck  Wright,  Alert  and  George  AY.  Deck 
AYright  won  the  first  heat  in  2:20J,  and  Harr}^  Roberts 
the  next  in  2:20.  Then  I  got  Palo  Alto  settled  for 
business  and  he  won  the  third  and  fourth  in  2:21,  2:21-J. 
The  fifth  heat  I  lost  to  Deck  AYrio'ht,  a  bov  fricj:hten- 


160  TRAINING   THE   TROTTING    HORSE. 

ing  Palo  Alto  by  running  across  the  track.  Darkness 
now  stopped  the  contest,  and  it  went  over  till  the  next 
Monday,  with  Palo  Alto  and  Deck  Wright  having  two 
heats  each,  and  Harry  Roberts  one.  The  following 
Monday  Palo  Alto  won  the  deciding  heat  and  the 
race  comfortably  enough  in  2:20J.  Two  daj^s  later  he 
"walked  over"  for  a  stake  at  Albany,  and  then  we 
headed  for  St.  Louis.  Here  he  was  brought  to  the  wire 
again  in  the  2:20  class,  the  field  against  him  being 
Charley  Hogan,  2:181;  Albert  France,  2:20J;  Libby  S., 
2:19i,  and  C.  F.  Clay,  2:18.  I  concluded  before  the 
race  that  some  of  these  horses  had  a  trifle  too  much 
speed  for  me,  and  that  it  would  be  better  to  let  them 
work  oif  a  little  of  it  between  themselves,  and  reserve 
my  effort  until  they  came  back  a  trifle  toward  my  notch. 
C.  F.  Clay  went  off  with  a  rush  in  the  first  heat,  and 
Charley  Hogan  and  Libby  S.  fought  it  out  with  him. 
Clay  beating  Hogan  in  2:18.  The  same  horses  cut  out 
the  work  in  the  next  heat,  but  the  mile  in  2:18  took 
the  fight  out  of  C.  F.  Clay,  and  the  finish  was  between 
Libby  S.  and  Charley  Hogan,  Doble  landing  the  latter 
winner  in  2:20^.  After  we  got  by  the  half-mile  post 
in  the  next  heat  I  began  to  take  a  hand  in  the  dispute 
with  Palo  Alto,  and  beat  Libby  S.  home  easily  in  2:21. 
The  fourth  heat  Libby  S.  and  Palo  Alto  trotted  neck 
and  neck  nearly  the  entire  distance,  and  Palo  Alto 
nearly  lost  it  by  a  break  in  the  stretch,  but  I  caught 
him  on  time  to  snatch  it  out  of  the  fire  in  2:21^,  In 
the  next  trip  Horace  Brown,  the  Buffalo  driver,  was 
put  up  behind  Libby  S.,  and  in  some  way  he  and  Van 
Ness,  driving  Albert  France,  got  into  collision  at  the 
first  turn,  and  in  the  general  confusion  Palo  Alto  became 


NINE    STARTS EIGHT    VICTORIES.  161 

"rattled  "  and  made  a  very  bad  break,  not  settling  until 
he  was  back  of  the  field.  Tan  Kess  got  out  of  the 
tangle  best,  and  went  after  Charley  Hogan,  with  Palo 
Alto  hard  on  his  track.  But  there  was  too  much 
ground  to  make  up  in  the  stretch,  and  Palo  Alto  broke 
in  a  muscle-tired  fashion,  Albert  France  winning  in 
2:24^.  My  horse  cooled  out  very  well  and  he  won  the 
deciding  heat  without  much  trouble  in  2:25.  It  was  a 
trying  race,  and  everv  horse  was  tired,  making  it  all 
the  more  creditable  for  the  four-year-old  to  stay  and 
win  in  the  end. 

This  campaign  showed  him  to  be  a  true  and 
game  four-year-old  race-horse.  Out  of  nine  starts  he 
scored  eight  victories.  He  had,  like  all  horses,  his 
peculiarities.  He  generally  had  to  trot  a  heat  in  com- 
pany before  he  was  ready  to  go  out  for  the  mone\% 
and  in  driving  him  you  had  to  strike  a  very  happy 
medium.  He  required  vigorous  and  constant  driving, 
but  there  was  a  line  beyond  which  it  meant  disaster  to 
go.  He  could  not  be  driven  with  an  over-check — he 
liked  a  side-check  with  an  independent  snaffle-bit.  His 
gait  is  good  and  pure,  carrying  ten-ounce  shoes  in 
front  and  five  behind,  and  the  usual  protecting-boots 
all  around.  Notwithstanding  that  his  dam  is  thor- 
oughbred, he  is  a  good-headed  horse,  being  certainly  as 
steady  as  the  average  purely  trotting-bred  horse,  and 
showing  certainly  no  more  disposition  to  leave  his  feet 
under  hard  pressure  than  fast  trotters  usually  do. 

Palo  Alto  suffered  in  the  fire  of  April,  1888,  and  had 
indeed  a  narrow  escape  from  being  burned  to  death. 
But  few  of  the  scars  have  lasted,  his  most  conspicuous 
loss  being  the  demoralization  of  his  tail  (as  our  faithful 


162  •  TRAINING    THE   TROTTING    HORSE. 

picture  shows),  which,  never  very  full,  is  now  light 
enough  to  suggest  "  bangfng."  Indeed,  he  would  pass 
for  a  very  fair-looking  thoroughbred. 

Trouble  developed  in  1888  in  one  of  his  fore  feet 
or  pasterns — in  fact,  it  was  a  little  difficult  to  exactly 
locate  the  ailment,  and  he  had  to  be  thrown  out  of 
training.  The  past  spring  I  began,  with  many  mis- 
givings— "doubting,  hoping,  fearing" — to  work  him 
again.  He  did  not  go  wholly  sound,  and  indeed  was 
lame  in  some  of  his  best  performances ;  but,  as  the 
brief  summar\^  below  of  Avhat  he  did  in  1889  shows,  he 
demonstrated  himself  about  as  great  a  trotting-stallion 
as  has  yet  appeared  on  the  turf,  taking  a  record  of 
2:1 2i,  the  fastest  mile  ever  trotted  by  a  stallion,  with 
the  single  exception  of  the  wonderful  colt  Axtell. 
After  standing  unequaled  for  five  years,  it  is  some- 
what strange  that  the  stallion  record  should  be  wiped 
out  in  a  single  season,  both  by  a  three-}^ ear-old  colt 
and  a  stallion  whose  dam  was  thoroughbred.  But  it  is 
the  unexpected  that  always  happens. 

For  a  long  time  the  trouble  in  Palo  Alto's  foot 
puzzled  me.  Though  I  never  gave  up  hope  entirely 
that  he  would  train  again,  the  prospect  was  not  cheer- 
ing. I  thought  the  trouble  was  in  the  ankle,  but  kept 
watching  and  finally  found  that  the  fore  foot  had 
spread  too  far.  I  then  shod  him  with  a  bar  shoe,  and 
had  clips  put  on  the  outside  of  the  shoe  to  prevent 
spreading,  and  the  horse  commenced  to  improve  at 
once,  though  he  showed  soreness  several  times  last 
summer. 

Palo  Alto's  first  start  in  1889  was  at  Napa,  August 
13th,  where,  in  the  2:20  class,  he  beat  Bay  Kose,  Jim 


PALO    ALTO    IN    1889.  163 

L.  and  Victor  in  straight  heats  in  2:21^,  2:20,  2:18.  At 
Petakmia,  August  28th,  he  again  won  the  2:20  class 
race,  his  time  being  2:201,  2:21i  2:23^,  Bay  Eose 
winning  the  second  heat  in  2:20^.  September  2d,  at 
Oakland,  he  beat  the  same  field  in  straight  heats  in 
2:221  2:20,  2:19^  At  the  same  track  on  the  Tth, 
he  defeated  Lilly  Stanle}^  in  2:18^,  2:19i,  2:2Ui  At 
Stockton,  Palo  Alto  trotted  the  most  brilliant  race 
trotted  by  any  horse  in  1889.  He  had  Direct  and  Bay 
Eose  to  beat,  and  he  did  it  in  2:16^-,  2:lTf,  2:13|,  the 
last  being  the  fastest  third  heat  ever  trotted  by  a 
stallion,  xlt  tha  Bay  District  track,  Xovember  2d,  he 
trotted  against  time  in  2:15.  On  Xovember  9th  he 
trotted  this  track  in  2:12^,  with  a  losing  break  at  the 
finish.  Then  we  took  him  to  Xapa,  Stamboul  going 
also,  and  on  Xovember  16th  both  stallions  made 
records  of  2:12^.  Palo  Alto's  feet  hurt  him  and  he 
broke  in  the  last  quarter,  but  settled  in  time  to  finish 
well.  Eain  prevented  further  attempts  to  break  the 
stallion  record  which  Axtell  had  set  at  2:12,  but  had 
the  weather  remained  fair  it  is  not  certain  that  there 
would  not  at  the  end  of  1889  have  been  two  stallions 
with  records  faster  than  Axtell. 

Palo  Alto's  campaign  of  1889  needs  no  eulogy  or 
elaboration.  Only  a  bare  statement  of  the  recorded 
facts  is  necessarj^  to  show  its  briUiancj. 


164  TKAmma  the  trotting  horse. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

SUDIE  D.  TAKES  THE  YEARLING  HONORS  TO  KENTUCKY  FOR 
A  BRIEF  SEASON NORLAINE,  THE  CHAMPION  YEAR- 
LING— HER  TRAINING SHE  BREAKS  SUDIE  D.'s  REC- 
ORD IN  2:3 1-J-  —  NORYAL,    2:1 7|-,    her   sire  —  sallie 

BENTON,     2:lTf,    the     CHAMPION     FOUR  -  YEAR  -  OLD     OF 

HER    DAY HELEN,    2:22f SPHINX,    2:23 — BELL     BOY, 

2:19|^ CHIMES    AND    SUISUN OTHER    STARS. 

From  the  day  that  Hinda  Eose  made  her  record  of 
2:36^  in  18S1  there  was  no  yearhng  produced  in 
America  to  threaten  that  record  until  the  season  of 
1887,  and  as  long  as  it  \vas  not  menaced  we  made  no 
effort  to  improve  it.  But  a  surprise  came  from  Ken- 
tucky in  the  year  last  mentioned,  when  the  deeds  of 
Sudie  D.  made  her  famous.  This  filly  is  by  Sherman's 
Hambletonian,  out  of  a  daughter  of  American  Clay, 
and  must  have  shown  great  promise  early  in  the  sum- 
mer, for  it  was  said  that  Bowerman  Bros.,  of  Lexing- 
ton, bought  her  in  August  for  $1,300.  After  George 
Bowerman  drove  her  a  trial  in  2:36,  John  S.  Clark,  of 
New  Jersey,  gave — so  the  papers  said — $5,000  for  her. 
He  started  her  at  Lexington,  October  16th,  and  she 
went  the  mile  in  2:35|.  When  the  news  arrived  that 
the  Palo  Alto  yearling  record  had  been  eclipsed  we 
at  once  set  to  work  to  bring  the  honor  back.  The 
time  was  short,  and  we  had  to  pick  a  good  one  of 


NOKLAIXE.  165 

our  youngsters  and  push  development  at  high  pres- 
sure. The  most  forward  of  our  yearlings  was  the 
filly  Xorlaine,  by  Xorval  (present  record,  2:lTi),  out  of 
Elaine,  2:20 — the  fast  mare  by  Messenger  Duroc,  out 
of  Green  Mountain  Maid,  whose  history  I  have 
already  given.  She  was  a  rather  dull  brown  in  color, 
a  trifle  pony-built  in  some  respects,  but  with  a  long, 
low-set  body,  short,  sloping  hip  of  the  pacing  forma- 
tion, and  low  at  the  wither.  Her  legs  and  feet  were 
of  the  best  quahty,  and  she  had  a  level  head.  JSTorlaine 
was  not  impressive  in  appearance  until  you  saw  her 
go.  She  was  always  fast  from  her  first  lesson  on  the 
miniature  track,  and  I  began  working  her  in  April, 
but  gave  her  only  the  easiest  of  work,  as  the  intention 
was  not  to  start  her  until  she  was  two  years  old.  But 
Sudie  D.'s  brilliant  performance  in  October  changed 
all  this,  and  I  then  began  training  the  filly  in  earnest, 
working  her  twice  a  day.  In  doing  this,  of  course,  I 
took  chances  of  injuring  her,  and,  indeed,  of  breaking 
her  down.  Had  we  began  earlier  she  could  have  been 
given  more  work,  and  could  have  been  developed  to  a 
higher  point,  with  little  or  no  risk ;  but  we  never  allow 
such  considerations  to  stand  in  the  way  when  the 
supremacy  of  Palo  Alto  in  colt  records  is  at  stake. 
The  filly  took  her  hard  work  with  relish,  and  improved 
under  it  until  November  12th,  when  we  felt  that  she 
was  equal  to  the  task  of  plucking  the  fresh  laurels 
from  Sudie  D.'s  brow.  The  trial  was  made  at  the  Bay 
District  track,  San  Francisco,  and  she  trotted  the  mile 
in  2:31^,  a  yearling  record  that  has  a  good  chance  to 
last  as  long  as  Hinda  Kose's.  The  time  by  quarters 
was  0:39,  0:36,  0:38,  0:38^.     Xow  I  wish  to  say  that  I 


166  TRAINING    THE   TROTTING    HORSE. 

made  a  mistake  in  driving  this  trial,  and  had  my  "  fore- 
sight been  as  good  as  my  hindsight"  on  that  occasion 
the  record  would  surely  have  been  a  trifle  faster.  She 
faltered  in  going  away,  and  the  time  to  the  eighth  was 
0:20.  Then  she  again  made  a  little  mistake,  but  went 
to  the  quarter  in  0:38 J.  From  this  point  on  the  Bay 
District  track  there  is  an  up-grade,  and  without  think- 
ing of  this  I  began  urging  the  filly  and  sent  her  the 
second  quarter  in  0:36 — a  2:24  gait,  which  is  certainly 
a  terrific  pace  for  a  yearling  baby.  My  error  was  in 
beginning  the  drive  too  early  ;  had  I  gone  easy  to  the 
three-eighth  pole  and  come  down  the  grade  fast  to 
the  finish  the  time  for  the  mile  would  have  been 
faster. 

After  making  this  marvelous  mile  the  filly  was 
turned  out  until  March.  A  few  weeks  before  the  fire 
she  was  taken  up,  and  showed  great  improvement  as 
soon  as  work  was  begun.  She  had  a  world  of  speed, 
and  gave  such  promise  that  I  expected  her  to  take  a 
record  at  two  years  old  as  fast  as  the  record  of  her 
dam — 2:20.  In  the  fire  of  April,  1888,  the  little  queen 
was  burned  to  death,  and  in  her  Palo  Alto  lost  a  star 
that  would  have  ranked  among  its  brightest. 

She  had  a  right  to  be  a  great  mare,  for  not  only  was 
her  dam  Elaine  a  great  trotter,  but  so  was  her  sire 
Norval.  This  horse  was  foaled  in  1882,  and  therefore 
got  Norlaine  in  his  three-year  old  form,  and  she  was 
the  only  foal  he  sired  previous  to  1888.  He  is  by 
Electioneer,  out  of  the  gray  mare  Norma,  2:33|,  by 
Alexander's  ISTorman ;  second  dam  by  Todhunter's  Sir 
Wallace,  and  next  dam  Eagletta,  by  the  race-horse 
Grey  Eagle.     Besides  Norval,  Norma  produced  Lucy 


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SALLIE    BENTOX.  167 

Cuyler,  owned  by  Eobert  Bonner,  and  she  is  credited 
with  having  gone  a  mile  in  2:15|^ — privately.  Xorval 
was  worked  young  and  was  one  of  our  fastest  colt- 
trotters.  I  have  driven  him  quarters  close  to  0:33, 
and  in  his  two-year-old  form  he  was  almost  as  fast  as 
Palo  Alto.  But  he  went  wrong-  in  a  leo^,  and  we 
decided  to  give  him  a  long  rest.  In  the  fall  of  ISSS  he 
began  to  round  to,  and  was  then  sold  to  Colonel  Robert 
P.  Pepper,  of  Frankfort,  Kentucky.  Good  fortune  fol- 
lowed him,  and  in  Colonel  Pepper's  hands  he  trained  on 
so  well  that  last  summer  he  took  a  record  of  2:1  TJ. 
He  is  one  of  the  most  magnificent  sons  of  Electioneer 
in  form,  in  quality,  in  action,  and  indeed  in  every  par- 
ticular, and  in  him  Colonel  Pepper  has  a  horse  that  I 
believe  will  prove  one  of  the  greatest  sires  in  Kentucky. 
"With  a  sire  and  dam  whose  average  record  is  2:18f, 
and  both  splendid  individuals  and  richly  bred,  JS'orlaine 
had  the  right  to  be  a  trotter. 

I  have  already  referred  in  several  places  to  the 
famous  gray  mare,  Sallie  Benton,  but  have  given  no 
sJxetch  of  her,  and,  though  it  is  a  little  out  of  the 
chronological  order,  we  may  without  impropriety  pay- 
due  tribute  to  her  at  this  place.  She  is  a  gray  mare 
of  racy  and  good  form,  and  was  got  by  Gen.  Benton, 
out  of  Sontag  Mohawk,  a  daughter  of  "Mohawk  Chief. 
I  worked  her  considerably  in  her  two-year-old  form, 
and  as  a  three-year-old  she,  besides  having  a  walk-over, 
won  two  good  races,  taking  a  record  of  2:30.  We 
worked  her  through  the  following  winter,  until  the 
death  of  Leland  Stanford,  Jr.,  when  all  work  was 
stopped  and  she  ran  out  nearly  all  summer.  In  Sep- 
tember, at  Cleveland,  Ohio,  the  Glenview  mare  Elvira 


168  TRAINING    THE   TROTTING    HORSE. 

trotted  in  2:18|^,  beating  Bonita's  four-year-old  record, 
and  then  we  had  the  task  before  us  of  regaining  the 
four-year-old  honors.  I  began  preparing  Sallie  Ben- 
ton, Helen  (by  Gen.  Benton)  and  Hinda  Rose  to  go 
againsf  Elvira's  time.  The  trials  were  at  the  Bay 
District  track,  December  13,  1881.  First  I  tried  with 
Hinda  Rose,  and  her  time  was  2:20^.  Then  I  drove 
Helen,  and  the  best  she  did  was  2:22f .  The  last  string 
left  was  Sallie  Benton,  and  right  nobly  she  answered 
the  question  that  was  asked  of  her.  She  made  the 
mile  in  2:17f,  and  this  four-year-old  record  stood  un- 
beaten until  Manzanita's  day. 

When  going  slow,  say  at  a  2:30  gait,  Sallie  Benton 
seemed  rather  awkward  and  tumbling  in  her  gait,  but 
at  high  speed  her  action  was  pure  and  beautiful. 
She  did  not  pull,  and  was  very  resolute  in  carrying  her 
speed.  In  making  her  2:lTf  record  she  made  a  break, 
and  her  great  speed  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  I  drove 
her  a  quarter  in  0:30J  as  a  five-year-old.  In  that  year 
she  developed  trouble  in  a  rear  tendon,  and  though 
with  our  stable  in  the  East,  she  gave  way  at  Rochester 
and  we  had  to  throw  her  out  of  training.  She  is  now 
a  brood-mare  at  Palo  Alto,  and  we  have  seen  enough 
to  warrant  high  expectations  of  her  in  the  stud. 

Helen,  the  mare  that  trotted  in  2:22f,  is  not  as  well 
known  to  fame  as  she  should  be.  She  was  a  bay  mare 
by  Gen.  Benton,  out  of  Alameda  Maid,  2:27^,  by  Whip- 
ple's Hambletonian.  At  Lexington,  Kentucky,  August 
31,  1883,  she  won  the  third  heat  of  a  race  against 
Fugue  in  2:30^.  The  next  year,  as  stated,  she  trotted 
the  Bay  District  track  in  2:22f,  and  in  her  five-year- 
old  form  I  worked  her  a  mile  in  2:19.     At  Chicago 


SPHINX.  169 

that  season  we  started  her  in  the  2:30  class,  against 
Harry  C,  Endymion,  and  ten  others.  In  the  fourth 
heat  there  was  a  collision  in  which  I  was  thrown  out, 
and  the  mare  ran  away  two  miles,  and  was  of  course 
distanced.  Her  only  other  start  was  on  a  muddy 
track  at  St.  Louis  where  she  could  do  nothing  in  the 
going.  She  had  a  big  swinging  gait,  was  slow  and 
awkward  in  getting  away,  and  had  a  great  deal  of 
speed,  but  required  plenty  of  education  in  races. 

In  drawing  our  historical  portion  of  this  book  to  a 
close,  I  cannot  refer  to  all  the  trotters  I  have  trained 
at  Palo  Alto  that  are  entitled  to  consideration,  but 
there  are  two  or  three  more  that  we  cannot  pass  by 
without  some  measure  of  just  remark.  One  of  the  most 
prominent  and  most  meritorious  of  the  horses  to  which 
no  special  reference  has  yet  been  made  is  Sphinx,  son 
of  Electioneer,  out  of  Sprite,  by  Alexander's  Belmont, 
and  next  dam  the  famous  AVater witch,  by  Pilot  Jr. 
He  was  foaled  in  1SS3,  was  worked  considerably  as  a 
yearling,  and  went  East  as  a  two-year-old.  He  was 
twice  beaten  by  Xutbreaker  and  beat  that  good  two- 
year-old  once.  He  took  a  two  year-old  record  of  2:29^. 
At  St.  Louis,  where  he  met  Xutbreaker  for  the  last 
time  that  year,  he  won  the  first  heat,  and  I  thought 
the  second  too,  but  both  colts  broke  just  at  the  finish, 
and  the  judges  curiousl}^  gave  the  heat  to  Xutbreaker 
because  Sphinx  made  the  best  break.  The  next  year, 
in  his  three-year-old  form,  he  started  eight  times,  win- 
ning four  times.  August  25th,  at  Covington,  Ken- 
tucky, he  beat  Geneva  and  Phythias  in  straight  heats, 
and  at  the  same  place,  a  few  days  later,  he  beat  Cas- 
talia  in  a  four-heat  race,  taking  a  record  of  2:2^^  in  the 


170  TKAINING  THE  TROTTING  HORSE. 

fourth  heat.  He  was  beaten  by  Bermuda,  at  Lexing- 
ton, September  1st.  At  Albany  he  walked  over  twice, 
and  again  met  Bermuda  and  Nutbreaker  in  that  great 
three-3"ear-old  race,  which  it  took  six  heats  to  decide, 
Kutbreaker  winning  a  heat  and  making  two-dead  heats 
with  Bermuda,  who  then  won.  Sphinx  was  now  a  little 
stale.  He  was  also  defeated  by  Kutbreaker  at  St. 
Louis,  and  again  by  Wild  Kake  in  fast  time — 2:241, 
2:21:i,  2:22f.  The  following  year,  in  the  hands  of  his 
present  owners,  Sutherland  &  Benjamin,  East  Saginaw, 
Michigan,  he  made  a  four-year-old  record  of  2:23. 
Sphinx  was  a  good  race-horse,  and  has  the  action, 
blood  and  individual  force  for  a  successful  trotting 
sire. 

Among  the  best  youngsters  we  have  sold  that  were 
partially  developed  at  Palo  Alto  may  be  mentioned 
Bell  Boy,  Suisun  and  Chimes.  It  is  my  belief  that 
each  of  these  three  horses  would  now  have  had  records 
in  the  2:20  list,  or  very  close  to  it,  had  the}^  remained 
at  Palo  Alto ;  whereas,  as  it  is,  only  Bell  Boy  has  done 
nobly,  while  Suisun  and  Chimes  hang  on  the  out- 
skirts of  2:30,  though  the  former  has  repeatedly 
beaten  that  figure,  and  the  latter  showed  speed  enough 
to  do  so. 

Bell  Boy,  the  brother  of  St.  Bel,  Hinda  Eose  and 
Palo  Alto  Belle  was  broken  and  worked  by  me  as  a 
yearhng,  and,  after  trotting  a  quarter  in  0:38,  he  was 
sold  to  S.  A.  Browne,  of  Kalamazoo,  Michigan,  for 
$5,000.  In  Mr.  Browne's  hands,  trained  by  Sam 
Caton,  he  made  a  two-year-old  record  of  2:26.  Mr. 
Browne  sold  him  for  $35,000  to  Seaman  &  Jefferson, 
and  in  the  fall  of  1888,  Caton  brought  him  to  Call- 


BELL    BOY,    SUISUN   AXD    CHIMES.  171 

fornia,  and  in  a  rainstorm  gave  him  a  three-year-old 
record  of  2:19^.  Later  on  he  was  sold  by  auction  to 
Clark  &  Hopper,  at  Lexington,  for  S51,000  —  the 
highest  price  ever  paid  for  a  horse  at  public  sale — and 
has  since  been  burned  to  death. 

The  filly  Suisun  was  among  the  best  of  the  young 
Electioneers  I  had  trained  up  to  her  time.  She  is  bred 
to  trot  and  stay,  being  out  of  Susie,  2:26J,  by  George 
M.  Patchen  Jr.,  2:27,  son  of  George  M.  Patchen,  2:23^, 
and  her  grandam  was  by  Owen  Dale,  son  of  William- 
son s  Belmont.  We  campaigned  her  in  her  two-year- 
old  form — 1886 — and  she  won  each  of  her  two  races, 
beating  in  the  first  Chastelard  and  Estelle,  and  in  the 
second  Ben  Hur,  Victor  Wilkes  and  Georgette,  trotting 
the  third  heat  of  her  last  race  in  2:31|^.  At  Cleveland, 
after  she  had  gone  a  public  trial  in  2:28,  we  sold  her  to 
W.  B.  Fasig  for  J.  B.  Houston,  of  Xew  York,  for  $5,000. 
Last  spring  Mr.  Houston  sold  her  for  over  §10,000,  and 
"General"  Turner  campaigned  her  in  the  Circuit,  but 
without  getting  her  out  of  the  class  in  which  he  began 
with  her. 

Chimes  (brother  to  Bell  Boy,  St.  Bel,  Hinda  Kose 
and  Palo  Alto  Belle)  we  sold  to  C.  J.  Hamlin,  at  the 
beginning  of  our  campaign  of  1886  at  East  Saginaw, 
for  §12,000.  That  year  he  made  a  two-year-old  record 
of  2:33|-.  I  began  working  this  colt  when  he  was  nine 
months  old,  and  before  he  was  fourteen  months  old  he 
showed  a  quarter  in  thirty-five  seconds.  I  regarded 
him  as  one  of  our  most  promising  youngsters.  In  his 
two-year-old  form  he  worked  three-quarters  at  a  2:24 
gait.  This  was  at  East  Saginaw,  after  Mr.  Hamlin 
bought  him.     Had  I  kept  him  in  my  stable  he  would 


172  TRAINING    THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 

surely  have  had  a  two-year-old  record  below  2:25.  But 
after  he  went  into  Mr.  Hamlin's  stable  he  went  back, 
for  when  I  saw  him  later  at  Cleveland  he  was  not  at 
himself.  After  this  I  was  informed  that  Mr.  Hamlin 
had  toe-weights  put  on  him.  and  if  that  be  true  I  can 
readih'  understand  his  falling  away  from  his  true  form. 
We  wore  a  ten-ounce  shoe  on  him,  and  he  had  no  need 
of  toe -weights.  He  has,  I  understand,  grown  very 
large,  not  being  so  compactly,  strongly  and  closely 
built  as  his  more  distinguished  brothers,  and  under  his^ 
new  training  he  has  never  been  the  horse  he  was  be- 
fore he  left  Palo  Alto. 

Bat  the  list  of  the  good  ones  seems  endless,  and  after 
I  have  w^ritten  far  more  than  I  intended  of  a  historical 
nature  I  find  that  a  brilliant  galaxy  of  trotters  that  I 
ha7e  trained  and  developed  must  be  passed  by  without 
justice  being  done  them.  Ansel,  2:20;  Azmoor,  2:24|^-y 
Carrie  C,  2:24;  Chfton  Bell,  2:24;  Maiden,  2:23;  Ger- 
trude Kussell,  2:23^ :  Rexford,  2:23,  and  many  others, 
would  afford  good  material  for  additional  chapters,  but 
we  must  hasten  on  to  the  chapters  on  training,  and  so 
will  end  our  historical  chapters  with  a  strong  finish — 
the  history  of  the  greatest  trotter  the  world  has  yet 
seen,  the  peerless  and  unrivaled  Sunol. 

•''  None  but  herself  can  be  her  parallel." 


STINOL.  173 


CHAPTEK  XIY. 

STJNOL,    THE    PHENOMENAL     TROTTER     OF    THE     NINETEENTH 

CENTURY  —  HER     BREEDING     AND      HER     FORM HER 

TEMPER     AND     NERVOUS      ORGANIZATION HER     FIRST 

LESSONS — TRAINING     ON     TO     GREATNESS DETAILS     OF 

HOW     SHE     WAS     WORKED WINS     HER     FIRST     RACE 

LOWERING     THE     TWO-YEAR-OLD     BECORD     TO     2:20^ — • 
LOWERING   IT   AGAIN   TO  2:18 — THE  WINTER  OF  1888-9 

A     LIST     OF     BRILLIANT     PERFORMANCES CHA^klPION 

THREE-YEAR-OLD    OF    THE    WORLD — 2:10|^. 

The  filly  Sunol  was  foaled  April  14,  1886.  Her 
■sire  was  Electioneer,  and  her  dam  is  the  chestnut  mare 
Waxana,  by  Gen.  Benton,  and  Waxana's  dam  was  the 
mare  Waxy,  whose  pedigree  has  been  the  subject  of 
SO  much  controversy.  AYaxy  was  always  represented 
to  be  by  Lexington,  but  until  Sunol  trotted  in  2:18  at 
two  years  old  no  serious  attempt  was  made  to  establish 
it.  After  Mr.  Wallace,  the  compiler  of  the  Trotting 
Eegister,  questioned  it,  Governor  Stanford  employed 
Mr.  Levi  S.  Gould,  of  Boston,  a  gentleman  of  much  ex- 
perience in  tracing  pedigrees,  to  investigate  it.  The 
controversy  over  this  pedigree  would  fill  many  pages 
of  this  book,  and  of  course  I  will  not  burden  it 
with  the  dreary  details,  it  being  unnecessary  to  say 
more  than  that  Mr.  Gould  reported,  after  a  long  and 
thorough   investigation,  that  Waxy   was  a   thorough- 


174  TRAINING    THE   TROTTING    HORSE. 

bred  daughter  of  Lexington,  out  of  a  mare  by  Grey 
Eagle,  and  that  she  was  a  full  sister  to  Annette,  the 
dam  of  Ansel,  2:20.  AVhether  this  pedigree  is  proven 
or  not  is  a  matter  of  opinion — Governor  Stanford  and 
the  general  public  accepting,  and  Mr.  Wallace  disput- 
ing it — but  be  the  exact  blood  lines  what  the}^  may,  it 
is  conceded  by  all  who  knew  AYaxy  and  knew  her 
history  that  she  was  a  thoroughbred,  or  we  might  say 
a  racing-bred  mare,  that  she  raced,  and  that  she  pro- 
duced in  Alpha  a  good  race-horse.  That,  after  all,  is 
the  most  important  point  about  it. 

SunoFs  dam,  AVaxana,  is  a  stout,  big  mare  of  excel- 
lent make-up.  She  was  well-broken  and  driven,  and 
though  she  never  was  transferred  from  the  breaking 
barn  to  the  training  stables  she  could  show  about  a 
2:40  gait,  and  her  action  was  good. 

Sunol  grew  into  a  bay  mare  of  rather  unusual  and 
peculiar  form,  one  of  the  most  "speedy-shaped''  ever 
seen,  and  a  veritable  racing-machine  in  appearance. 
She  stands  15.2  hands  high  at  the  wither,  and  measured 
at  the  quarter  she  stands  full  16  hands.  She  has  an 
exquisitely  fine  head,  clean  cut,  expressive  and  bespeak- 
ing determination,  the  nostril  full  and  delicate,  and  the 
eye  prominent  and  striking.  Her  neck  is  long  and 
shapely,  delicately  cut  out  at  the  throat ;  the  shoulder 
lays  well  back;  the  barrel  is  very  deep  through  the 
heart  region,  and  the  back  a  little  on  the  roached 
order,  and  very  strong.  Her  height  over  the  quarters, 
and  her  short,  steep  rump  give  her  a  somewhat  re- 
markable appearance.  The  stifles  are  good,  and  her 
thighs  of  great  length  sweep  down  muscular  and  sinewy 
to  the  hocks,  which  like  her  knees  are  excellent.     Her 


BREAKING    SUNOL.  1  i  O 

legs  are  clean  and  flat  and  of  fine  quality,  and  she 
stands  on  first-rate  feet. 

She  was  fast  in  the  paddock,  but  we  had  trouble  in 
breaking  her.  She  \Yas  terribly  high  strung  and 
cranky  from  the  outset,  and  every  time  it  was  neces- 
sary to  bring  her  under  any  sort  of  control  or  direction 
there  was  trouble.  In  the  hands  of  a  rough,  harsh  or 
bad-tempered  trainer  Sunol  would  have  been  ruined 
beyond  a  doubt.  We  began  to  break  her  to  harness  at 
a  year  old,  We  were  as  gentle  as  possible  with  her, 
had  every  consideration  for  the  high  tension  at  which 
her  nerves  were  strung,  and  endeavored  to  gain  her 
confidence.  After  we  had  her  used  to  the  harness,  and 
to  being  guided  by  bridle  and  rein,  she  was  worked  a 
little  while  bv  the  side  of  a  steadv-o;oiuf]:  horse,  and 
was  then  asked  to  go  in  single  harness.  But  this  the 
haughty  spirit  of  the  coming  queen  would  not  calmly 
brook.  It  was  a  difficult  thino^  to  get  her  into  the 
shafts,  and  after  she  was  in  she  would  do  about  every- 
thing possible  except  go  ahead  in  a  decorous  and 
proper  manner.  In  the  skeleton-wagon  she  was 
mean — would  go  sideways,  stop,  turn,  etc.,  and  in  short 
her  course  of  education,  in  the  breaking- barn,  was  a 
rather  turbulent  one — and  she  did  not  graduate  with 
the  highest  honors,  as  to  docility  and  rehabihty,  when 
she  was  transferred  from  that  primary  department 
into  my  training-school  in  the  fall  of  1887.  But  that 
great  sieve,  the  miniature  track,  had  sifted  her  out  as 
pure  wheat,  and  we  knew  before  we  broke  her  that 
she  was  the  rough  stone  that  only  required  tlie 
trainer's  polish  to  transform  into  a  gem  of  the  bright- 
est ray. 


176  TRAINING    THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 

For  a  good  while  after  she  came  into  my  stable  we 
could  count  upon  an  hour's  time  as  the  average  dura- 
tion of  the  process  of  hitching  Sunol  to  a  sulky.  Not 
that  she  was  exactly  vicious,  but  she  had  and  has  a 
will,  a  temper  and  a  determination  of  her  own,  and 
at  that  time  every  individual  hair  seemed  to  contain 
a  nerve. 

I  worked  her  very  carefully  through  the  winter  of 
1887-88,  stepping  her  fast  for  a  short  distance  every 
other  day  or  two.  I  strove  to  "  gentle  "  her  and  never 
to  do  anything  to  make  her  dislike  her  exercise  and 
work  on  the  track.  After  she  began  going  fast  I 
would  usually  take  her  first  to  the  back-stretch,  where 
there  was  less  to  disturb  and  annoy  her  than  on  the 
stretch  near  the  stables;  and,  after  working  there 
about  long  enough,  I  would  step  her  around  and  down 
the  stretch  at  the  rate  of  about  0:35  to  the  quarter.  I 
never  would  drive  over  half  a  mile  fast  at  one  brush, 
and,  generally,  the  brushes  were  nearer  a  quarter  than 
a  half.  This  system  of  Avork  continued  until  July, 
when  we  shipped  to  Los  Angeles,  where  she  was 
entered  in  a  two-year-old  race  to  be  trotted  August  5th. 
We  arrived  at  Los  Angeles  about  July  20th,  and  up  till 
this  time  Sunol  had  never  been  driven  a  mile  at 
speed  in  her  life.  Four  days  before  the  race  I  gave 
her  a  full  mile  in  2:40^,  which  was  her  first  work  at 
a  mile,  although,  as  I  have  remarked,  she  had  before 
this  shown  me  the  ability  to  speed  at  a  2:20  gait. 
I  repeated  her  in  2:38.  The  next  day  she  was 
merely  exercised,  and  the  second  day  before  the  race 
I  gave  her  another  mile  and  repeat  in  2:36  and 
2:33^^.     In  the  race  her  only  opponent  Avas  Hon.  L.  J. 


JJ- 


in 

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BREAKING    THE    RECORD.  177 

Eose's  filly  Yesolia,  by  that  great  horse  Stamboul, 
2:12J,  and  she  was  quite  a  good  filly,  by  the  way. 
My  single  fear  was  that  Sunol  would  become  so  fright- 
ened at  the  crowd  that  she  might  not  steady  herself. 
So  before  the  race  I  endeavored  to  accustom  her  to  the 
people,  driving  easily  up  and  down  the  stretch  on  two 
or  three  occasions.  Still  she  was  hardly  reconciled  to 
the  noise  and  excitement  of  the  race-track,  but  she  won 
the  race  in  2:314  and  2:25.  We  then  went  home  and 
trained  her  as  usual,  driving  no  more  miles,  but  speed- 
ing fast  quarters,  with  an  occasional  "pipe-opener"'  at 
a  half.  Her  next  engagement  was  at  Petaluma, 
August  22d.  After  going  to  Petaluma  I  drove  her  a 
mile  and  repeat  in  2:38  and  2:33.  This  was  on  the 
20th.  In  the  race  she  had  Margaret  S.  (by  Director) 
and  Fortuna  agamst  her.  She  broke  going  away  in 
the  first  heat,  but  settled  and  won  it  in  2:28^.  The 
next  heat  she  won  m  2:26|,  almost  walking  under  the 
wire.  AVe  returned  to  Palo  Alto,  and  kept  her  at 
home  until  the  second  week  in  October,  when  we  went 
to  the  Bay  District  track,  at  San  Francisco.  Here  she 
was  driven  a  mile  and  repeat  on  two  occasions — the 
first  in  2:32  and  2:35,  and  the  second  in  2:2S|^  and  2:23. 
The  latter  work  was  on  the  18th.  On  the  20th  she 
was  to  start  against  the  two-year-old  record — 2:21 — 
made  by  AYildflower,  but  she  was  not  in  condition  to 
do  herself  full  justice.  She  was  suffering  from  troubles 
peculiar  to  her  sex,  and  being  naturally  of  a  nervous 
temperament,  was  not  near  her  best.  But  she  suc- 
ceeded in  breaking  the  record  in  2:20|^.  I  was  not 
satisfied  with  this,  and  decided  to  remain  at  the  track 
for  another  week  and  o^ive  her  another  trial  on  the 


178  TRAINING  THE  TROTTING  HORSE. 

27th.  AVe  worked  her  no  more  full  miles  in  the  mean- 
time, bat  endeavored  to  have  her  on  edge  as  to  speed, 
and  to  feel  as  well  as  possible  under  the  circumstances. 
The  track  was  good  that  day,  excepting  immediately 
in  front  of  the  grand-stand,  where  it  had  not  dried  out 
perfectly.  My  friend  Orrin  Hickok  drove  tiie  run- 
ning-horse in  this  trial,  and  no  man  could  do  it  with 
better  judgment.  I  carried  my  watch  as  usual — in  my 
hand — and  according  to  its  showing  we  went  the  first 
quarter  in  0:35,  the  second  in  0:35,  the  third  in  0:34 
and  the  fourth  in  0:34 — 2:18.  The  judges  caught  the 
same  time  for  the  mile,  but  their  official  verdict  as  to 
the  fractional  time  differed  slightly  from  mine,  they 
making  it  0:35,  0:341,  0:34i,  0:34^.  This  performance 
of  course  made  Sunol's  name  world-famous,  and  it  was 
conceded  to  be,  all  things  considered,  the  greatest  per- 
formance ever  seen ;  and,  excepting  her  own  2:10^  at 
three  years  old,  I  know  of  no  more  creditable  trotting 
performance  on  record  than  2:18  for  a  two-year-old. 

After  this  Sunol  was  taken  home  and  given  a  vaca- 
tion for  the  winter.  She  was  not  turned  out,  but  had 
her  exercise  regularh^  in  the  skeleton- wagon,  never, 
however,  being  speeded  fast.  About  midwinter  I  had 
her  turned  out  one  day  in  a  grassy  paddock,  and  she 
was  so  full  of  animal  spirits  that,  in  rearing  and  pranc- 
ing, she  strained  a  tendon  in  the  right  hind  leg.  This 
swelled  up,  and  at  one  time  gave  me  some  reason  to 
fear  that  it  might  have  a  serious  influence  on  her  future 
as  a  turf  star.  But  I  treated  it  constantly  with  cooling 
lotions,  and  two  or  three  good  cold  shower-baths  a 
week,  and  in  time  all  signs  of  the  trouble  disap- 
peared.    This  gave  rise  to   an  erroneous   rumor  that 


SUNOL    AND    LILLIAN   WILKES.  179 

I  had  been  trainino^  her  under  pretty  high  pressure 
during  the  winter,  and  that  she  had  broken  down. 

She  was  given  only  exercise  until  my  return  from 
JSTew  York,  May  19th.  Then  I  found  her  hind  ankles 
not  in  the  best  of  shape,  but  commenced  joggmg  her. 
It  was  about  a  month  before  I  dared  give  her  fast 
work ;  and  she  was  brushed  very  little  until  I  had  her 
legs  well  seasoned.  Then  I  worked  her  on  our  usual 
speed-making  plan  until  she  could  step  a  quarter  in 
about  0:30.  Having  the  necessary  speed,  I  gave  her 
mile  and  repeat  work,  and  when  I  left  home  she  was 
in  splendid  form,  and  fit  to  race  with  anything.  At 
the  Bay  District  track  she  caught  cold,  and  this 
developed  a  case  of  distemper  so  severe  that  she  did 
not  eat  for  five  days.  At  ^"apa  the  weather  was 
intensely  hot,  which  did  not  agree  with  her.  Her 
appetite  was  not  good,  and  being  a  very  highly  organ- 
ized mare,  of  nervous  temperament,  she  became  much 
reduced.  I  skipped  the  Santa  Eosa  Meeting,  thinking 
she  would  have  ample  time  to  recover  her  strength 
before  filling  her  engagement  at  Petaluma.  But  she 
was  more  reduced  than  I  supposed,  and  was  far  from 
being  right  when  she  met  Lillian  Wilkes  and  Margaret 
S.,  at  Petaluma,  August  29th.  My  friend  Goldsmith 
had  Lillian  Wilkes  in  fine  shape,  and  Margaret  S.  made 
me  go  the  first  heat  in  2:21^.  Then  Lillian  was  cut 
loose  and  won  the  race  in  2:17f,  2:22,  2:25.  I  think, 
however,  even  in  the  condition  Sunol  was,  I  could  that 
day  have  beaten  Lillian  single-handed. 

A  week  later,  at  Oakland,  Sunol  again  met  Lillian 
Wilkes  and  Margaret  S.,  and  avenged  the  Petaluma 
defeat,  winning  in  straight  heats  in  2:21,  2:24J,  2:20. 


180  TRAINING    THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 

Here  is  a  list  of  her  other  achievements  in  1889 : — 

Sacramento,  September  12th,  walk-over.  Time, 
2:16i. 

Sacramento,  September  17th,  beat  Margaret  S.  Time, 
2:20i,  2:26i,  2:18. 

Fresno,  October  2d,  against  time — 2:13f. 

San  Francisco,  October  12th,  walk -over.  Time, 
2:15i. 

San  Francisco,  November  9th,  walk -over.  Time, 
2:101 

Napa,  November  16th,  against  time — 2:15. 

The  fight  between  Axtell  and  Sunol,  for  the  three- 
year-old  championship,  Avas  the  all-absorbing  event  of 
the  trotting  turf  of  1889.  When  Axtell  trotted  in 
2:14,  at  Chicago,  our  Eastern  friends  were  confident, 
but  SunoFs  2:13i  set  them  at  work  again,  and  at  Terre 
Haute  Axtell  trotted  in  2:12.  Then  all  the  East  was 
ablaze  with  joy,  and  hardly  a  man  dared  be  so  rash  as 
predict  that  Sunol  would  beat  it,  but  when  she  trotted 
in  2:10|^  all  candid  men  recognized  that,  great  as  Axtell 
is,  the  world  has  never  seen  Sunol's  equal.  For  a  three- 
year-old  to  beat  2:12  by  one  and  one-half  seconds  is 
certainly  conclusive.  Seconds  are  big  things  when  you 
go  down  around  2:12.  So  the  season  of  1889,  opening 
somewhat  unfavorably,  was  one  of  great  triumph  for 
Sunol,  for  she  closed  it  as  plainly  the  greatest  of  all 
three-year-olds,  as  she  proved  herself  in  1888  the 
greatest  of  all  two-year-olds.  If  no  mishap  befalls 
her  she  is  destined  to  reign  queen  of  the  turf ! 

Though  I  have  left  many  really  great  young  trotters 
unsketched,  here  we  must  conclude  the  historical  por- 
tion of  this  work.     It  has  already  gone  far  beyond  the 


WHAT   OUR    SYSTEM    HAS    DONE.  181 

limit  intended  in  my  original  plan,  but  when  I  come  to 
write  it  I  find  so  much  that  should  be  said  that  greater 
condensation  was  hardly  possible.  Though  not  as 
instructive,  perhaps,  as  the  chapters  that  follow,  the 
history  we  have  given  is  not,  I  think,  without  its 
lessons,  and  certainly  not  without  much  bearing  on  the 
remaining  chapters  of  this  work.  The  little  glimpses 
I  have  given  of  how  we  trained  these  famous  trotters 
will  show  that  we  have  not  followed  altogether  in 
beaten  paths,  and  that  our  departures  from  old- 
fashioned  grooves  have  not  been  barren  of  good  results. 
To  train 

A  yearling  to  trot  in  2:31|^ ; 

A  two-year-old  to  trot  in  2:18 ; 

A  three-year-old  to  trot  in  2:10|^ ; 

A  four-year-old  to  trot  in  2:16 ; 

A  stallion  to  trot  in  2:12i  ; 
(the  four  first  being  the  world's  record  for  their 
respective  ages,  and  the  latter  within  a  quarter  of  a 
second  of  the  present  stallion  record),  to  say  nothing 
of  the  many  others  wiiose  performances  were  less 
sensational,  is  not  a  bad  showing  for  ten  years'  w^ork  at 
one  farm.  I  have  told  as  briefl}^  as  I  can  do  so  justly 
what  this  system  of  training  has  accomplished.  Xow" 
I  propose  to  describe  w^hat  the  system  of  training  is 
that  has  given  such  gratifying  results. 


182  TRAINING   THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 


CHAPTEK  XY. 

A  CHAPTER  ON  EARLY  TRAINING — THE    SUBJECT  CONSIDERED 

IN  VARIOUS  PHASES HIRAM  WOODRUFF  AND  HIS  DAY 

THE    ADVANCE    SINCE     THEN TROTTERS    NOW    COME    TO 

THEIR    SPEED    EARLY THE   PREJUDICE  AGAINST  EARLY 

TRAINING     PASSING     AWAY A     PRACTICAL     NECESSITY 

WITH    BREEDERS    WHO    BREED  FOR    PROFIT TIME   THAT 

MEANS    MONEY THE     BENEFITS    OF    EARLY     TRAINING 

ARE    LASTING — IT    MUST  NOT    BE  OVERDONE THE    PAST 

AND    PRESENT   CONTRASTED. 

The  first  man  to  earn  a  name  as  a  trainer  of  trotting 
horses,  and  to  publish  his  experiences  and  his  opinions, 
was  Hiram  Woodruff,  and  his  book — "  The  Trotting 
Horse  of  America" — is  read  as  a  standard  work  to-daj, 
though  Woodruff  has  been  under  the  Long  Island  sod 
for  over  twenty  years,  and  the  crude  methods  of  his 
day  have  been  reduced  to  quite  a  fine  art.  I  Ijave  no 
desire  to  speak  other  than  respectfully  of  the  pioneer 
of  our  profession  or  of  his  work.  Trotting,  me  might 
say,  was  born  in  his  day,  and  he  had  not,  as  we  now 
have,  the  experiences  and  examples  of  others  to  profit 
by.  In  all  horse-training  for  speed  there  are  general 
principles  that  always  apply,  and  the  work  that  con- 
fronted Hiram  Woodruff  and  the  other  trainers  of  his 
generation  was  to  modify  the  principles  of  training  the 
race-horse  to  suit  the  development  of  speed  in  the 
trotter.     And  though  these  methods  were  crude,  as  all 


OLD-TIME    YOUNGSTERS.  183 

new  processes  are,  and  thouo^h  some  of  the  ideas  that 
Woodruff  believed  most  firmly  in  are  no  longer  ten- 
able, his  book  can  still  be  read  with  profit,  for  in  the 
record  of  what  his  experiences  taught  him  are  many 
sterling  truths  of  horsemanship. 

It  is  no  part  of  my  purpose  to  criticise  the  methods 
or  the  opinions  of  others  whose  experience  has  given 
them  the  right  to  speak  with  some  degree  of  authority 
on  the  subject  of  training.  Every  trainer  has  his  own 
ideas,  his  own  peculiar  methods,  and  his  own  reasons 
for  them.  We  can  well  learn  from  each  other,  and  it 
is  therefore  best  that  we  should  all  be  tolerant  of  the 
opinions  and  practices  of  others.  I  shall  therefore,  in 
the  following  chapters  confine  myself  as  closely  as  I 
conveniently  can  to  explaining  our  system  of  training 
rather  than  criticising  the  methods  of  other  trainers. 
I  do  not  counsel  any  trainer  or  breeder  to  discard 
methods  that  he  has  found  successful  and  substitute 
ours;  but  what  the  methods  I  am  to  explain  have 
accomplished  entitles  them,  in  my  judgment,  at  least, 
to  the  careful  consideration  of  all  horsemen  as  an  im- 
proved system  of  training  young  horses  to  trot. 

The  thoroughbred  race-horse  of  this  day  is  just  about 
as  good  at  three  years  old  as  he  ever  is,  but  in  the  early 
years  of  the  racing  breed  it  was  not  so.  "  In  the  days 
of  Flying  Childers,  Eclipse,  Bay  Malton,  Gimcrack, 
Mambrino,  etc.,  the  race-horses  were  not  commonly 
trained  until  they  were  five  years  old."  So  in  Hiram 
Woodruff's  day  the  trotter  was  quite  mature  in  years 
before  he  was  expected  to  show  high  capacity  on  the 
turf,  while  in  our  day  we  expect  great  performances  at 
three  and  four  years  old,  and  often  at  two  years  old. 


184  TRAINING   THE   TROTTING    HORSE. 

Woodruff  quotes  as  quite  wonderful  the  two-year-old 
performance  of  Young  America  in  3:06,  the  mile  of 
Cora  at  three  years  old  in  2:37,  and  of  Ethan  Allen  in 
2:36  at  four  years  old.  The  two  antl  three-year-old 
records  of  his  day  were,  as  they  seem  to  us  now, 
ridiculously  slow,  and  he  was  in  his  grave  for  seven 
years  before  either  a  three  or  a  four-year-old  trotted  a 
mile  as  fast  as  2:30.  Between  the  best  three-year-old 
and  four-year-old  record  and  the  all  aged  records  of 
Woodruff's  time,  there  was  such  a  wide  gap  that  he 
naturally  believed  that  a  horse  must  be  nine  or  ten 
years  old  before  he  was  ready  for  great  performances. 
"  His  own  loved  Lady  Thorn "  was  when  he  died  ten 
years  old,  but  had  not  reached  her  best,  and  Dexter 
had  not  then  beaten  Flora  Temple's  2:1 9f,  but  as  he 
Avas  only  eight  the  old-time  trainer  reasoned  that  with 
a  little  more  age  he  would  do  it.  To  come  down  a 
little  further,  fifteen  years  ago  there  was  a  gap  of  fifteen 
seconds  between  the  fastest  three-year-old  record  and 
the  fastest  all-aged  record.  Five  3^ears  later  the  gap 
was  reduced  to  thirteen  seconds.  In  five  years  more 
Hinda  Rose  had  closed  it  up  to  nine  and  a  quarter 
seconds,  and  only  six  years  more  have  elapsed  and  we 
find  one  three-year-old  within  two  and  a  quarter 
seconds  of  the  fastest  record  for  any  age,  and  another 
within  one  and  three-quarter  seconds  of  the  fastest 
record.  The  history  of  the  running-breed  and  the 
trotting-breed  has  been  identical  in  this  respect. 
The  older  the  breed  grows,  and  hence  the  higher 
its  natural  capacity  in  the  special  purpose  for  which 
it  is  bred,  the  earlier  this  capacity  manifests  itself 
in  a  hifjh  deo^ree.     In  our  earlier  trotters  the  fast  trot 


NECESSITY    OF    EAKLY    DEVELOPMENT.  185 

was  almost  wholly  a  matter  of  teaching — an  accom- 
plishment which  it  took  years  of  practice  to  acquire; 
but  now  it  is  a  natural  quality  of  the  breed,  a  capacity 
born  in  the  horse,  not  wholly  acquired  and  hence  it 
develops  in  its  fullness  earlier. 

That  the  prejudice  against  early  training  in  the  past 
has  hindered  to  some  extent  the  progress  in  breeding 
the  trotter  I  do  not  doubt.  One  effect  was  undeniably 
the  diverting  from  the  trotter  of  the  attention  of  men 
who  would  breed  if  it  were  not  that  they  believed  it 
necessar\^  to  wait  many  years  for  any  return  from 
their  capital,  labor  and  care.  Thev  saw  that  they 
could  breed  race-horses  and  begin  reapmg  the  harvest 
of  their  success  in  three  years  at  furthest,  whereas  the 
prevailing  sentiment  would  have  it  that  the  trotter  at 
three  years  was  too  young  to  even  begin  to  educate. 
But  this  prejudice  is  to  a  great  extent  passing  away. 
The  business  of  breeding  has  now  reached  a  point 
Avhere  few  breeders  have  the  inclination,  even  if  they 
were  financially  able  or  believed  it  beneficial,  to  wait 
six  or  seven  years  for  the  get  of  their  stallions  and  the 
produce  of  their  mares  to  show  what  their  blood  is 
worth.  The  buyer  who  selects  a  few  youngsters — a 
stallion,  perhaps,  to  head  a  future  stud,  or  a  filly  or 
two  for  the  harem — does  not  want  to  wait  for  years  to 
find  out  whether  they  are  worth  keeping  and  breeding 
from  or  not.  Hence  he  buys  the  blood  that  trots 
young.  The  small  breeder  who  wishes  to  stint  his 
favorite  mare  feels  that  at  the  very  best  he  must  wait 
a  weary  time ;  therefore  he  selects  the  stallion  whose 
colts  develop  early  speed.  Again,  and  for  these  same 
reasons,  the  cream  of  the  patronage  goes  to  such  stall- 


186  TRAINING    THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 

ions,  for  they  gain  prestige  and  popularity  before  the 
sire  of  a  slow  maturing  tribe  gets  a  start,  and  the  latter 
loses  more  ground  at  the  beginning  than  he  can  ever 
make  up.  The  breeder  with  a  large  stud  cannot  sell 
his  stock  at  paying  prices  or  cannot  attract  attention 
to  his  horses  until  the  youngsters  trot,  and  so  his  every 
interest  impels  him  to  breed  from  blood  that  trots 
young,  and  to  train  the  progeny  3^oung  and  prove  that 
they  are  young  trotters.  The  sooner  that  is  done,  the 
sooner  the  harvest  begins.  Until  it  is  done  money  is 
going  out — after  it  is  done  money  begins  to  come  in. 
When  the  brood-mare  produces  a  performer  at  an 
early  age  her  mone}^  producing  power  is  much  greater 
than  if  that  honor  came  late  in  life  when  her  prolific 
days  were  waning.  Business  wisdom  and  business 
necessity  point  the  path  to  success  in  breeding  from 
early-trotting  blood  and  in  developing  it  early. 

These  facts  sufficiently  account  for  the  growing  ten- 
dency toward  early  training  and  trotting  and  the  pub- 
lic preference  for  blood  that  trots  young  and  trots  fast. 
Some  of  our  great  families  of  the  past  have  been,  it  is 
true,  the  slow-maturing  ones;  but  there  are  just  as  good 
families  that  we  are  not  compelled  to  expend  time  and 
money  in  unnecessarilj^  waiting  upon.  The  earliest 
blood  matures  none  too  early;  nor  can  the  breeder 
bring  out  his  colts,  if  they  are  good,  any  too  early  for 
the  best  results. 

But  I  fancy  I  hear  some  one  say  :  ''  Yes,  we  grant 
that  it  may  pay  better  to  train  and  trot  your  horses 
young,  but  will  you  produce  horses  a«  good  at  maturity 
in  that  way  as  the  breeder  does  who  Avaits  upon  them 
until  they  are  older,  their  bones  full  grown  and  set, 


EAKLY    TKAINIXG.  187 

and  their  whole  physical  organization  better  fitted  to 
stand  the  wear  and  tear  of  training  V' 

My  answer  is,  "  Yes,  if  they  are  properly  trained,'' 
and,  of  course,  when  I  speak  of  the  benefits  of  early 
training,  it  is  assumed  that  it  is  judicious  training. 
Four  colts  out  of  five  that  have  suffered  from  early 
training  have  not  suffered  because  the\^  were  trained 
young,  but  because  they  were  not  properly  trained. 
There  are  many  men  who  can  train  a  mature  horse, 
and  still  more  who  can  successfully  drive  him  after 
somebody  else  has  trained  him ;  but  the  men  capable 
of  properly  and  intelligently  educating  colt  trotters  are 
as  scarce  as  2:15  horses.  To  listen  to  much  of  the 
clamor  against  colt  training,  one  would  imagine  that 
aged  horses  never  were  known  to  break  down.  All 
horses  gifted  with  natural  speed  have  not  the  capacity 
to  train  on ;  and  a  horse  lacking  in  this  respect  will 
inevitably  "  go  wrong  "  before  he  reaches  the  limit  of 
his  speed  capacity,  no  matter  when  he  is  trained.  If 
he  goes  wrong  at  two  years  old  he  will  be  a  cheaper 
failure  than  if  he  goes  wrong  at  ten  years  old.  If  a 
stallion  has  not  the  power  to  make  a  great  sire,  and  his 
get  have  not  the  capacity  and  quality  to  make  good 
performers  the  quicker  the  owner  and  trainer  find  it 
out  the  better. 

I  am  not  only  strong  in  the  belief  that  the  colt  can 
be  trained  for  speed  from  his  infancy  without  injury, 
but  that  such  training,  if  successfully  and  judiciously 
given,  is  a  great  and  lasting  benefit.  It  will  make  him 
a  better  aged  horse.  Let  two  colts  in  all  other  thino:s 
equal  be  raised  together,  the  one  trained  from  his 
yearling  form,  the  other  not  worked  until  he  is  five 


188  TRAINING    THE    TR0TTI:NG    HOKSE. 

years  old,  and  the  chances  are  not  one  in  ten  that  the 
latter  will  ever  see  the  da}^  that  he  is  the  equal  of  his 
trained  brother,  either  in  speed  or  in  any  of  the 
qualities  that  go  to  make  a  race-horse.  He  will  not 
onl}^  be  uneducated,  of  untrained  instinct  and  willful, 
but  he  will  be  deficient  in  physical  as  well  as  mental 
development,  as  compared  with  the  trained  one.  Can 
the  lounger  run,  leap,  or  wrestle  with  the  athlete  whose 
muscles  have  the  substance,  hardness  and  tone  of  long 
and  constant  training  ? 

If  you  ask  me  whether  a  great  and  straining  effort 
by  a  young  colt  will  prove  permanently  detrimental,  I 
will  answer,  "As  a  rule,  yes."  We  are  all  too  anxious, 
and  many  a  colt  has  been  a  victim  to  the  driver's 
impatience  to  accomplish  in  a  week  what  should  not 
have  been  attempted  in  two  months.  But,  on  the  other 
hand,  you  can  train  a  colt,  and,  if  exceedingly  promis- 
ing, you  can  give  him  a  fast  record  without  necessarily 
requiring  of  him  an  exhausting  effort.  There  is  one 
tiling  I  will  endeavor  to  impress  it  upon  the  reader 
here,  and  I  will  endeavor  to  impress  it  upon  him  again 
and  again.  It  is  this  :  "  Xever  require  of  the  colt  more 
than  he  can  do  within  himself.  Xever  overdo  the 
work.  Never  carry  him  to  the  last  inch  of  effort,  to 
the  point  of  exhaustion,  for  at  that  point  not  only  does 
all  development  cease  but  you  have  probably  undone 
many  weeks  of  work,  and  have,  perhaps,  inflicted  per- 
manent injury.  The  reader  will  not  fail  to  appreciate 
how  delicate  a  thing  the  training  of  the  young  trotter 
is.  A  happy  medium  must  always  be  preserved — a 
little  misstep — a  little  error  in  judgment  may  bring  all 
your  efforts   to  naught.     If   you  do  not  cany  it  far 


KIXDNESS.  189 

enough  your  work  will  be  barren  of  immediate  results, 
while  if  you  carry  it  too  far  you  will  not  only  spoil  all 
that  is  already  done  but  ruin  the  material  that  may  be 
the  making  of  a  star  performer.  It  calls  for  the  most 
careful  judgment,  eternal  vigilance  and  keen  discrimi- 
nation in  know  in  o;-  how  far  to  o-q. 

Another  thing  the  reader's  attention  is  directed  to  at 
the  outset.  Xo  cast-iron  set  of  rules  can  be  laid  down 
to  fit  every  case.  The  same  medicine  will  not  suit 
every  patient,  the  same  diet  and  training  is  not  best 
for  all  children,  and  all  colts  cannot  be  treated  exactly 
alike.  ^Vhile  no  trainer  can  fail  to  increase  his  skill 
b}^  studying  the  experiences  of  others,  ten  volumes,  will 
not  relieve  him  from  the  necessitv  of  usingf  his  own 
brains.  Just  as  every  man  that  was  ever  born  differs  in 
some  respects  in  his  mental,  moral  and  physical  nature 
from  every  other  man,  so  do  all  horses  differ,  and  from 
every  colt  the  trainer  trains  he  must  learn  another 
lesson.  He  must  study  the  disposition  and  the  tempera- 
ment, res])ect  the  peculiarities  and  have  regard  to  the 
physical  differences  as  well,  of  each  of  his  pupils,  And, 
above  all,  my  friend,  do  not  go  about  your  work  like  a 
slave  drivei^ ;  do  not  conduct  yourself  as  though  the 
colts  were  unfeeling,  unintelligent  brutes.  Treat  them 
for  what  they  are — the  noblest  of  God's  creations  after 
the  human  family.  If  you  are  a  manly  man  you  treat 
children  with  respect  for  their  age  and  their  undisci- 
plined minds — you  show  them  the  gentler  side  of  your 
nature.  Eemember  then  that  the  colts  are  the  children 
of  their  kind.  Thev  are  delicate  and  their  feelinci:s 
more  sensitive,  and  their  dispositions  more  easily 
spoiled  than  those  of  the  full  grown  horse.     Firmness 


190  TRAINING    THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 

is  sometimes  required  ;  there  is  always  occasion  for 
gentleness,  but  harshness,  violence  and  bad  temper  are 
vices  in  a  colt-trainer  that  wholl}^  unfit  him  for  his 
business.  The  trainer  that  has  the  colts'  confidence  and 
respect  will  do  more  and  do  it  easier  than  the  one  who 
is  regarded  by  the  colt  with  only  fear  and  distrust. 
You  will  never  either  scare  or  club  him  into  being  a 
record-breaker ;  if  it  cannot  be  done  by  rational  educa- 
tion it  cannot  be  done  at  all. 

Twenty  years  ago  the  average  trainer  believed  that 
the  time  to  break  a  colt  was  at  from  three  to  four  years 
old.  The  first  performance  was  a  stand-up  fight  be- 
tween the  trainer  and  the  colt,  and  perhaps  the  colt 
came  out  of  the  mill  worsted — he  certainh^  came  out 
Avorse.  It  took  all  conceivable  appliances  to  hold  him. 
He  was  strong  and  willful,  had  never  known  subjection, 
and  hence  fierceh^  resented  it.  By  the  time  he  was 
"  broken  "  to  go  properly,  the  trainer  thought  he  had 
educated  him,  while  in  fact  he  had  simply  broken  his 
spirit.  Then  when  the  colt  was  subdued  to  tract- 
ability,  and  training  him  to  trot  began,  he  was  worked 
like  an  old  horse,  speeded  mile  heats,  and  two  or  three 
or  four  of  them  in  a  day,  according  to  vrhether  the 
trainer  believed  in  '"  plenty  work  "  or  not.  He,  accord- 
ing to  these  old  ideas,  must  be  reduced  low  in  flesh, 
well  "  drawn  up,"  and  hence  he  was  "  put  on  rations  " 
and  his  appetite  denied  especially  before  a  race.  Then 
the  horse  was  not  considered  of  much  account  unless  he 
would  "take  hold  of  the  bit,''  or  in  other  words  unless 
he  was  a  puller,  and  many  of  the  matches  were  not  so 
much  matches  between  horse  and  horse  as  between 
driver  and  horse.     Has  not  every  farmer's  boy  been 


THE    OLD    AND    THE    NEW,  •  191 

charmed  by  the  pictures  of  old-time  trotters  with  the 
driver  laying  back  in  a  manner  that  suggested  that  the 
reins  must  have  had  the  strength  of  traces  ?  ^Ye  no 
longer  believe  in  pulling  to  the  half-mile  pole,  and  then 
riding  home.  The  idea  that  it  helps  a  horse's  speed  to 
draw  a  man's  weight  on  his  under  jaw  is  hardly  a 
reasonable  one.  In  the  old  days,  too,  all  the  appliances 
were  coarse  and  heavy.  The  tracks  were  crude  and 
rough,  and  until  twelve  or  fifteen  years  ago  the  seventy- 
five  pound  sulky  was  concidered  a  "  frail  bark  "  indeed. 
Xowall  this  is  changed.  The  youngster  is  born  and 
grows  lip  mider  control — he  never  knows  absolute 
freedom  and  therefore  he  never  feels  subjection.  He 
is  taught  at  the  time  when  teaching  is  easy,  when  he 
is  3^oung,  that  he  cannot  oppose  his  strength  to  man's 
strength,  and  hence  there  is  no  violent  struggle  for  the 
mastery,  with  its  evil  after  effects  on  body  and  disposi- 
tion. Before  he  is  strong  enough  to  make  stubborn 
resistance  he  has  forgotten  that  there  is  anything  to 
resist.  To  go  as  he  is  guided  and  do  as  he  is  directed, 
has  become  his  natural  habit.  And  then  when  he  is 
trained  he  is  not  asked  to  do  work  beyond  his  years 
and  strength.  His  whole  early  life  is  an  inductional 
course  of  education.  His  mouth  is  not  made  callous 
and  harsh,  and  he  is  not  taught  to  regard  his  lessons  in 
trotting  as  a  dreaded  process  of  running  the  gauntlet 
between  two  fires — the  bit  in  front  and  the  whip 
behind.  His  harness  and  the  thirty-eight  or  forty 
pound  sulky  which  he  draws  are  so  light,  perfectly 
fitted  and  balanced,  that  they  seem  a  part  of  himself. 
The  artificial  appliances  on  his  legs  and  feet  are  noi 
ponderous  hinderances,  but  easy -fitting,  fight  and  com- 


192  TRAINING    THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 

fortable  protectors,  giving  him  the  courage  to  extend 
himself,  without  an}^  fear  of  striking  a  tender  cord.  In 
short,  we  have  come  nearer  to  nature  in  our  latter-day 
training  than  did  the  famous  trainers  of  the  past 
generation,  and  our  systems  are  not  only  more  simple, 
reasonable  and  efficacious,  but  more  humane.  Is  it 
then  wonderful  that  with  better-bred  horses,  and  with 
such  improvement  in  the  methods  and  appliances  of 
training,  the  trotter  of  to-day  has  made  such  rapid 
advancement  in  the  matter  of  speed  ? 


EAKLY    TREATMENT.  193 


CHAPTEE   XYL 


FEEDING    COLT   AND    DAM HALTERING    AND    LEARNING 

TO     LEAD THE     BENEFITS    OF    COMPANIONSHIP THE 

"kindergarten" THE     EVOLUTION    OF    THE    TRAIN- 
ING-PADDOCK  PLANS    AND    DIRECTIONS THE    COLT's 

FIRST   LESSON    IN    TRAINING   TO    TROT. 

Some  philosopher  has  said  that  the  proper  time  to 
begin  training  the  colt  is  before  he  is  born,  and  there 
is  a  good  deal  of  truth  in  this.  The  discussion  of  this 
part  of  the  colt's  training,  however,  would  carry  us 
into  the  realm  of  breeding,  and  therefore  we  will  let  it 
pass  for  the  present,  as  for  our  immediate  purpose  it 
will  do  to  begin  after  the  colt  comes  into  the  world. 

If  the  climate  will  afford  it,  as  it  does  with  us  at 
Palo  AltOj  the  new-born  colt  should  be  turned  out  in 
the  warm  sun  during  the  day  with  his  dam,  and  of 
course  housed  at  night.  As  long  as  he  is  well  it  is  best 
to  leave  him  pretty  much  to  the  care  of  his  mother  for 
the  first  few  months.  In  this  climate,  after  he  is  about 
two  and  a  half  months  old,  he  is  left  out  day  and  night, 
and  in  case  the  grass  should  not  be  good,  other  feed 
must  be  given.  See  to  it  that  the  mother  is  kept 
strong  and  stout.  Especially  if  she  has  been  bred  and 
is  again  m  foal,  she  must  be  kept  thrifty  and  given 
abundance  of  nourishing  food.     She  has  then  not  only 


194  TRAINING  THE  TROTTING  HORSE. 

herself  and  the  life  of  the  foal  b}^  her  side  to  sustain, 
but  there  is  an  additional  drain  on  her  life-blood  to 
supply  the  creature  in  embryo.  There  is  no  greater 
folly,  no  worse  economy,  than  stinting  the  brood-mare 
in  her  food,  unless  it  be  the  ruinous  but,  I  am> sorry  to 
say,  not  uncommon  course  of  allowing  the  colt  to  run 
down  after  he  is  weaned. 

"We  aim  to  wean  the  colts  at  about  five  months  old, 
and  about  this  time  the  mare  is  taken  up  and  fed  oats 
and  bran.  It  is  a  good  plan  to  have  some  ground  oats 
Avhere  the  little  fellow  can  reach  it  and  where  his 
mother  cannot,  especially  if  it  should  happen  that  she 
has  laid  on  too  much  fat,  which,  however,  will  not  often 
be  the  case.  When  his  mother  is  eating  oats,  or  any 
other  grain  food,  ground  grain  being  always  prefer- 
able, the  youngster  will  learn  to  nibble  at  it  too,  and  it 
is  surprising  how  quickly  he  will  cultivate  an  appetite 
for  oats.  This  is  a  good  time  to  avail  yourself  of  every 
chance  to  tame  him.  Handle  him  all  you  can  without 
frio-hteninfi:.  Gain  his  confidence  and  show  him  that 
he  is  not  going  to  be  hurt.  He  will  soon  begin  to  be 
familiar  and  quite  at  home  with  you,  and  when  this  is 
reached  an  important  point  is  gained.  After  say  a 
week  of  this  daily  feeding  and  familiarizing  you  will 
halter  the  colt  and  take  him  off  the  mare ;  but  before 
taking  him  away  from  her,  lead  her  a  little,  so  that  he 
will  learn  to  lead  by  following  her.  Have  your  halter 
to  fit ;  have  it  light,  but  so  strong  that  no  break  is  pos- 
sible, and  if  you  have  done  right  by  the  colt  you  are 
not  likely  to  have  much  trouble  in  getting  it  on. 

The  next  thing  to  be  done  is  to  learn  the  colt  to 
lead.     Perhaps  he  will  take  a  notion  to  lead  without 


LEADING  THE  YOUNGSTERS.  195 

any  special  teaching,  but  then  again  he  may  take  a 
notion  to  ])ull  the  opposite  way.  Here  is  the  apphance 
by  which  the  difficulty  is  best  overcome  :  Take  a  small 
rope  and  make  a  good-sized  loop,  large  enough  to  throw 
over  the  colt's  buttocks,  leaving  the  head — the  knot — 
of  the  loop  about  his  wither.  Xow  run  the  free  end  of 
the  rope  through  the  halter  ring.  In  addition  to  this 
you  will  have  already  snapped  the  regular  leading  line 
or  strap  into  the  halter-ring.  Xow  take  your  leading 
line  in  one  hand,  with  the  free  end  of  the  body  ro})e  in 
the  other,  and  tell  him  to  come  along,  at  the  same  time 
gentl}^  drawing  him  by  the  leading  line.  If  he  comes 
easily  do  not  make  any  use  of  the  body  rope  and  do 
not  put  the  slightest  weight  upon  it,  but  be  careful  not 
to  let  it  drop  down  too  far  on  his  legs.  If,  however,  he 
hangs  back,  pull  him  along  sharply  by  the  body  rope, 
and  he  will  soon  see  that  there  is  only  one  way  to  get 
along  easily,  and  that  is  to  obey  the  leadmg  line,  for  he 
has  to  come  along  any  wa\^.  He  cannot  resist  the  pres- 
sure around  his  quarters.  There  should  not  be  many  of 
these  lessons  required  until  he  is  thoroughly  under  the 
control  of  the  halter.  We  have  always  found  it  best 
to  keep  two  colts  together  in  these  earlier  days,  both 
in  the  boxes  and  at  work.  They  like  company,  are 
far  more  contented,  and  learn  quicker.  If  you  take 
one  little  fellow  off  by  himself  to  teach  him  the  ways  of 
the  halter  he  is  far  more  likely  to  become  frightened 
than  if  he  has  another  to  go  through  the  process  with 
him.  I  suppose  that  in  all  these  first  lessons  the 
youngster  experiences  some  mental  misery,  and  it  is 
said  that  "misery  loves  company„"  A  scared  horse 
has  no  sense ;  he  must  have  sense  if  he  is  to  learn  any- 


196  TRAINING  THE  TROTTING  HORSE.  * 

thing,  and,  therefore,  the  reassuring  effect  of  having  a 
companion  with  him  is  very  beneficial,  and  renders  the 
work  easier  for  both  trainers  and  colts.  By  leading 
one  after  the  other  alternately  they  learn  very  quickly, 
their  natural  inclination  to  follow  each  other  being  a 
helpful  influence.  Let  the  boys  lead  them  to  the  pad- 
docks in  the  morning  and  back  to  the  boxes  at  night, 
lead  them  to  grass  and  back,  and  to  and  fro,  around 
here  and  there,  until  they  are  perfectly  gentle,  halter- 
wise  and  easily  caught.  If  this  training  has  been 
intelligently  and  gently  done,  the  colt  will  come  to  call 
in  the  fields  and  show  all  the  confidence  of  an  old 
horse.  The  colts  should  never  be  meaninglessly  played 
with,  or  petted  beyond  reason ;  nor  should  they  ever  be 
teased,  frightened,  whipped  or  in  any  way  abused. 
My  advice  to  every  breeder  and  owner  is  that  if  3^our 
man  abuses  your  colt,  or  horse  either,  no  matter  how 
good  a  trainer  he  may  be,  never  overlook  more  than 
the  first  offence.     At  the  second  "bounce"  him. 

All  this  time,  of  course,  the  colt  is  to  be  right  well 
fed  and  cared  for.  Each  pair  will  be  kept  in  a  clean, 
warm,  well-ventilated  box,  and  each  one  attended  to 
and  fed  as  though  the  whole  hope  of  the  farm  depended 
upon  him.  He  will  relish  oats,  good  grass  and  hay, 
and  don^t  be  afraid  that  he  will  eat  too  much.  After 
he  is  thoroughly  halter-wise  he  will  be  ready  for  the 
lesson  in  preparation  for  his  turf  career.  This  is  given 
in  the  miniature  track — or,  as  it  may  be  called,  the 
kindergarten — and  as  this  is  a  very  important  factor  in 
our  system  of  training,  and  one  invented  and  used  at 
Palo  Alto,  I  will  describe  it  with  some  fullness. 

The  evolution  of  the  miniature  track  is  part  of  the 


THE    MINIATURE    TRACK.  197 

histon^  of  Palo  Alto,  and  its  origin  dates  back  co  the 
spring  of  1879.  That  season  Bentonian  and  Fred 
Crocker  were  our  most  promising  yearlings,  and,  to 
show  their  gait,  we  used  to  chase  them  in  the  paddock 
where  they  ran  out.  ^N'aturally,  when  they  got  a-going 
along  one  side  they  would  trot  right  u^)  into  the  corner 
and  then  stop.  To  obviate  this  we  saw  that  the  corners 
must  be  rounded  off.  The  next  move  was  to  throw  up 
the  turns  a  little,  and  then  to  prevent  them  making 
short  cuts  we  built  a  brush  fence  ten  feet  from  the 
outer  fence  of  the  paddock.  Xow  we  had  a  miniature 
track  in  the  crudest  form.  Soon  the  colts  learned  the 
trick  of  jumping  the  brush,  and  we  made  another 
improvement  by  putting  a  lovf  board  fence  around  in 
place  of  the  brush,  and  making  a  good  dirt  track.  But 
they  also  jumped  our  new  fence,  and  next  we  struck 
upon  the  idea  of  building  a  higher  fence,  with  the  rail 
inclined,  so  that  they  could  "  hug  it"  around  and  not 
strike  their  legs  on  the  posts.  So  from  a  rough  be- 
ginning our  track  was  improved  and  perfected  until  we 
have  the  paddocks  of  to-day.  I  need  hardly  say  that 
with  the  improvement  in  the  track  we  improved  in  our 
skill  in  using  it,  as  well  as  in  appreciation  of  its  great 
value  as  an  invention  in  training  equij^ments. 

We  have  now  two  of  these  miniature  tracks  at  Palo 
Alto,  and  to  make  their  form  and  construction  wholly 
plain  to  the  reader,  I  supplement  my  description  with 
clear  drawings  and  plans.  These  tracks,  it  will  be 
seen,  are  laid  oif  in  oval  shape  like  a  mile  track,  with 
proportionate  turns  and  stretches.  The  track  should 
be  made  of  soil  good  for  the  feet,  and  should  always  be 
kept  deep  and  soft.     The  turns  should  be  thrown  np 


19S 


TRAINING    THE    TliUTTING    HORSE. 


very  sharply,  especially  in  the  case  of  one  built  on  the 

smaller  of  the  two  ]>lans 
given  in  our  cuts.  On 
such  a  track  six  or  seven 
inches  to  the  foot  is  not 
too  steep  for  the  ends. 
The  track  should  be  about 
ten  feet  wide.  The  inner 
rail  should  be  set  at  a  good 
angle  (see  Diagram  of 
Covered  Training  Pad- 
dock, Figure  A),  so  that 
there  can  be  no  danger  of 
the  colt  striking  his  feet  or 
legs  against  the  posts. 
This  rail  should  be  about 
high  enough  to  strike  the 
yearling  colt  a  little  above 
the  center  of  the  barrel. 
This  top  rail  should  be 
about  five  inches  wide,  of 
pretty  stout  material,  and 
the  edges  niceh^  rounded 
off.  Do  not  have  any  more 
posts  than  are  necessarv, 
so  that  the  view  will  not  be 
obstructed.  You  want  to 
see  how  the  colt  handles 
his  feet  and  legs,  and  if 
you  have  too  many  posts 
it  will  prove  confusing  to 
the    eye    to    watch    his 


nminmmiiiiih 

DIAGRAM  A — COVERED  TRAINING  -  PAB- 
DOCK  —  DISTANCE  AROUND  CENTER 
OF  DRIVE  313  FEET. 


TRAINING    PADDOCKS. 


199 


motion.  To  be  on  the  safe  side,  although  if  they  are 
set  at  the  right  angle  there 
is  really  little  clanger, 
round  off  the  edges  of  the 
posts,  so  that  should  the 
colt  by  any  mishap  come 
in  contact  with  them  he 
will  not  be  cut.  I  have 
seen  colts  that  w^ere  going 
fast  and  trying  to  stop 
and  turn  suddenly,  some- 
times throw"  themselves 
under  the  rail,  and  in  such 
a  slip  of  course  a  leg  may 
be  struck.  But  owing  to 
the  softness  of  the  track 
it  is  really  very  rare  with 
us  for  a  colt  to  sustain  any 
injur}"  in  the  training  pad- 
dock, either  by  falling, 
slipping,  striking,  or  strain- 
ing. 

I  would  not  advise  any 
breeder  to  build  a  smaller 
track  than  our  covered 
training  paddock.  One  a 
trifle  larger  would  be  bet- 
ter. The  other  diagram 
is  of  a  lai'ge  open-air  pad- 
dock. We  work  our  young- 
sters almost  wholly  in  the    diagram  b— training-paddock— dis- 

1  1   1         1         "        1  1  TANCE    AROUND    CENTER    OP    DRIVE 

covered  paddock,  and  only         50^  pee^. 


200  TRAINING    THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 

use  the  larger  one  when  Ave  wish  to  see  how  colts  of 
say  a  year  and  a  half  to  two  years  handle  themselves. 
This  track  can  be  used,  hoAvever,  to  very  good  advan- 
tage, though  as  between  the  two  the  smaller  one  will 
be  found  the  more  useful,  and  easier  to  train  in.  Two 
men  can  train  in  the  smaller  paddock,  and  it  will  re- 
quire three  to  properly  work  a  colt  in  the  larger  one. 

NoAV  Ave  have  the  track  all  ready,  and  as  we  had  the 
colt  thoroughly  halter-Avise  before  describing  AAdiat  the 
training-paddock  is  like,  Ave  are  ready  to  give  him  his 
first  lessons.  After  the  colt  has  been  given  his  break- 
fast and  had  his  general  morning  "  fixing  up,"  we  snap 
the  leading-line  into  the  halter  and  take  him  oA^er  to 
the  paddock,  ^ow  Ave  put  on  the  boots,  and  must  be 
very  careful  that  they  fit  thoroughly  and  are  the  work 
of  some  one  Avho  knows  hoAV  to  make  boots  for  young 
colts.  HaA^e  good  shin- boots  all  around — boots  tuat 
Avill  thoroughly  protect  the  shins  and  tendons,  that  fit 
well  and  Avill  not  chafe.  You  also  Avant  quarter-boots 
all  around,  and  I  much  prefer  the  bell -boot.  Some 
horsemen  profess  to  have  a  great  aversion  to  boots* 
and  ncA^er  tire  talking  of  "the  kind  that  go  without 
boots."  Because  we  boot  a  colt  is  no  reason  for  sup- 
posing that  Ave  know  he  Avill  strike  himself.  They  are 
used  as  a  safeguard — as  a  preventive  against  possible 
accidents  and  injuries.  You  may  work  a  colt  or  horse 
nine  times  without  boots  and  he  ma}^  ncA^er  touch  a 
hair,  but  the  tenth  time  he  may  make  a  false  step,  may 
find  a  bad  place  in  the  track,  become  unbalanced  and 
break,  and  I  care  not  hoAv  pure-gaited  he  may  be,  he  is 
quite  likely  to  cut  a  quarter  or  strike  a  tendon,  or  sus- 
tain any  of  the  many  varieties  of  such  injuries,  ranging 


FIRST    LESSON.  201 

m  consequence  from  a  temporary  disability  or  spoiling 
the  gait  to  permanent  retirement.  Do  not  take  chances 
with  a  good  colt ;  boot  him  safely.  It  is  better  to  be 
sm-e  than  sorry.  Xo  trainer  of  experience  or  ability 
will  neglect  this  important  point  in  training. 

Having  booted  him  all  right,  take  him  into  the  track 
and  lead  him  around  it  several  times  until  he  is  thor- 
oughly familiar  with  his  new  surroundings.  Then  let 
a  man  follow  him  around,  and  give  him  pretty  much 
his  own  way  until  he  has  time  to  inspect  the  paddock, 
approve  of  it  and  become  reconciled  to  the  arrange- 
ments. After  doing  all  this  without  hurry  or  bustle, 
it  will  be  time  to  turn  him  loose.  Quietl}^  unsnap  the 
leading  rope  from  the  halter  and  start  him  around.  If 
he  wants  to  run,  let  him  do  it  at  first ;  he  wiU  soon  tire 
of  it  and  settle  to  a  trot.  After  a  preliminary  run  or 
so,  endeavor  to  keep  him  at  the  trot  as  much  as  pos- 
sible. Two  men  will  stand  in  the  inclosure  inside  the 
track ;  one  near  either  end,  and  will  be  provided  with 
w^hips  with  long  lashes  and  snappers.  The  colt  will 
soon  learn  to  obey  the  sound,  the  swish  and  the  snap 
of  these  whips,  together  with  the  commands  of  the 
trainers.  After  ^^ou  get  him  properly  to  work  do  not 
let  him  run  when  he  breaks.  By  going  toward  the 
rail  and  slashing  the  whip  across  the  track  in  front  of 
him  he  will  stop,  and  probably  turn  and  go  the  other 
direction  of  the  track.  Teach  him  to  go  around  the 
turn  easy,  and  urge  him  through  the  stretches.  You 
will  soon  learn  just  how  much  urging  he  will  stand 
and  just  what  sort  of  direction  he  best  understands. 
He  will  learn  just  as  quickly  what  you  want  him  to  do. 
and  3^ou  will  be  surprised  to  find  him  soon  understand 


202  TRAINING    THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 

ing  what  every  crack  of  the  whip  and  every  shout  of 
the  trainer  means.  Be  patient  and  gentle  in  these  first 
lessons.  They  are  perhaps  the  most  important.  Do 
not  generate  in  his  mind  a  prejudice,  a  dread  or  a  dis- 
like for  the  track.  Therefore  let  the  first  half-dozen 
lessons  be  short,  and  in  showing  him  into  the  track  and 
escorting  him  out  of  it,  be  kind,  quiet  and  easy,  so  as  to 
reassure  him.  The  first  few  lessons  and  the  eif ect  they 
have  on  the  colt's  mind  and  disposition  will  have  an 
important  influence  on  his  subsequent  improvement. 


DAILY   PKOGKAMME.  203 


CHAPTEE  XYII. 

WORKING     OX    THE     MINIATUKE     TEACK THE    DAILY     PER- 
FORMANCE   AMOUNT    OF   WORK    GIVEN IT  MUST   NOT 

BE       EXCESSIVE  THE       COLt's       CONFIDENCE      TO      BE 

RETAINED HITCHING WORKING   WITH  A    RUNNER — 

AN  UNNATURAL  METHOD    OF  TRAINING BALANCE  AND 

STRIDE  —  THE    BENEFIT   OF    THE    TRAINING   PADDOCK 

DEVELOPING    SPEED,    WIND    AND    MUSCLE    NATURALLY. 

ISTow  you  have  giv^en  the  colt  his  first  lesson,  and  you 
naturally  desire  to  lay  out  for  yourself  and  him  a  pro- 
gramme which,  in  your  fond  dreams,  is  to  be  a  path- 
way to  success.  How  much  work  are  you  to  give  him? 
How  often  is  he  to  be  worked,  and  how  long  at  a  time? 
AYhat  are  the  special  benefits  derived  from  this  style 
of  training  ?  It  requires  more  equipment  in  the  way 
of  a  track,  and  it  is,  at  the  outset,  more  costly  than 
working  a  colt  with  a  runner,  and  what  better  is  it  ? 
All  these  and  a  thousand  more  questions  you  will  ask 
yourself,  and  I  fancy  3^ou  are  asking  them  of  me  as 
you  read.  I  cannot  answer  them  all  at  a  single  dash, 
but  will  try  and  deal  with  each  as  it  naturally  comes 
up  as  we  go  along. 

We  have  a  great  many  colts  to  work,  and  to  show 
the  reader  our  '^  order  of  business  "  for  a  day,  we  will 
trace  them  through  the  daily  routine  at  Palo  Alto.  It 
is  simple  enough.    In  the  morning  they  are  cleaned  ofi^ 


204  TRAINING    THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 

gently  and  well,  watered  and  fed,  and  turned  out  in 
the  paddock.  In  our  paddock  we  have  a  long  rack 
filled  with  hay,  and  there  are  also  watering  facilities, 
so  that  the  colts  can  eat  and  drink  at  leisure.  We 
have,  it  will  of  course  be  understood,  this  work  con- 
fined to  a  department,  with  a  superintendent  and  force 
of  men  and  boys  who  have  nothing  to  do  with  any 
other  work  than  looking  after  the  youngsters  in  their 
primary  school.  After  all  have  had  the  morning  atten- 
tions above  indicated,  they  are,  one  by  one,  worked  in 
the  miniature  track  and  turned  out  in  a  paddock.  After 
all  have  been  worked  we  let  them  run  in  a  field  of  good 
grass.  Meanwhile,  their  stalls  or  boxes  are  cleaned 
out  and  bedded,  and  feed  put  in.  Then,  in  the  evening, 
the  colts  are  taken  up,  their  feet  cleaned  out,  and  then 
they  are  turned  into  their  boxes  all  right  for  the 
night. 

When  you  first  begin  using  the  miniature  track  da 
not  imagine  that  the  colt  is  the  only  party  concerned 
that  has  anything  to  learn.  To  make  proper  use  of 
the  track,  to  reap  the  best  results,  to  do  the  greatest 
good  with  the  least  jarring,  friction  and  trouble,  you 
want  skill  as  great  as  the  man  that  sits  in  the  sulky. 
True,  it  is  not  the  same  kind  of  skill  exactly,  but  it 
requires  the  same  order  of  judgment.  It  calls  for 
coolness,  watchfulness  and  thought.  To  know  how 
far  to  go  without  going  too  far  is  the  great  point.' 

You  must  not  tire  the  colt.  Give  him  a  good  work- 
ing (not  forgetting  that  he  is  just  growing  out  of  the 
days  of  foalhood,  and  3^et  far  from  being  a  horse),  but 
be  very  careful  that  you  do  not  make  the  work  weari- 
some.    You  will  teach  him,  as  I  have  said,  to  take  the 


WORK    IN    THE    KIXDERGARTEX.  205 

turns  easy,  and  come  into  the  stretches  prepared  for  a 
brush.  After  a  few  rounds,  with  three  or  four  sharp 
brushes,  let  him  stop  if  he  wishes  to  get  his  breath  free 
and  welL  Then  start  him  around  the  other  way.  It 
will  not  do  to  have  him  go  around  the  track  one  way 
all  the  time,  for  if  you  do  this  you  will  soon  have  him 
hitching.  Making  the  turns  always  in  the  one  direc- 
tion gets  him  into  the  habit  of  throwing  the  inside 
liind  leg  further  than  the  outside  one — hence  the  hitch- 
ing and  roughness  in  the  gait.  In  going  around  a  turn 
the  colt  will  always  reach  farthest  with  the  inside  foot. 
So  you  will  endeavor  to  about  equall}^  divide  the 
work — let  him  go  one  way  about  as  much  as  the  other. 
Don't  scare  the  colt.  After  he  has  got  to  showing 
some  speed  in  the  stretches  you  can  urge  him  by  cluck- 
ing, snapping  the  lash,  or  "  shooing  him  up "  just  as 
much  as  he  will  stand,  but  when  he  breaks  endeavor  to 
steady  him  with  the  usual  calls  in  a  reassuring  voice, 
and  if  he  persists  in  running  stop  him.  A  moment's 
reflection  will  show  ^^ou  how  simple  a  thing  it  will  be, 
but  how  injurious,  to  allow  the  colt  to  get  the  idea  into 
his  head  that  he  is  caught  in  a  trap  and  being,  as  it 
were,  "  hunted.''  Xever  for  a  moment  forget  that  he 
will  learn  just  in  proportion  to  the  measure  of  his 
confidence  in  his  trainers,  and  that  if  he  becomes  pos- 
sessed of  the  idea  that  he  is  being  merely  chased- he 
will  think  nothing  about  trotting,  but  all  his  mind  will 
be  centered. on  getting  away  and  keeping  away  from 
those  he  may  unfortunately  regard  as  his  tormentors. 
You  should  always  be  able  to  catch  him — not  capture 
him — on  the  track,  and  when  done  lead  him  out  kindly 
and   quietly.      About    fifteen   minutes   will   be   fully 


206  TRAINING  THE  TROTTING  HORSE. 

sufficient  to  keep  him  on  the  track,  and  you  will  not 
require  to  keep  him  a-going  too  brashly  to  have  a 
pretty  good  "work  out"  for  the  youngster  in  that 
time. 

The  longer  he  is  in  tlie  ring  the  more  work  he  can 
take  with  beneficial  results.  Increase  it  gradually,  but 
always  keep  on  the  safe  side.  If  you  err  at  all,  err  in 
not  giving  him  enough — not  enough  is  far  better  than 
too  much.  Just  as  soon  as  a  colt  is  overworked  his 
educational  progress  not  only  ceases,  but  he  goes  back, 
and  goes  back  by  jumps  compared  to  which  his  improve- 
ment is  a  slow  process.  If  you  find  you  have  gone  too 
far,  give  him  a  vacation,  let  him  get  thoroughly  re- 
freshed, and  then  begin  again  at  the  beginning  and  go 
slow.  You  will  readily  see  how  much  better  it  is  not 
to  overdo  the  thing  in  the  first  place  than  to  have  to 
o^o  back  and  beo-in  all  over  ao:ain. 

Provided  your  colt  keeps  all  right,  and  is  well,  stout 
and  strong,  you  can  give  him  this  work  everv  week-day 
until  he  is  twelve  to  fourteen  months  old,  about  which 
time  you  will  break  him  to  harness.  If  he  is  promis- 
ing he  will  by  this  time  have  shown  you  a  way  of  going 
through  the  stretches  that  will  remind  you  of  an  old- 
stager  on  the  track,  and  if  you  are,  as  we  will  presume, 
a  good  judge  of  action  and  balance  you  will  be  able  to 
form  a  pretty  fair  idea  of  what  kind  of  a  horse  you  are 
going  to  have. 

As  our  period  of  colt-education  in  the  miniature 
track  is  identical  with  part  of  that  at  which  many 
trainers  work  their  youngsters  b}^  the  side  of  a  runner, 
I  may  as  well  here  give  my  reasons  for  not  resorting 
to  that  style  of  education.     Some  may  say  that  I  am 


PRESERVE   THE   BALANCE.  207 

prejudiced  against  this  S3^stem,  but  I  believe  I  can 
claim  honestly  that  I  have  no  prejudice  against  any- 
thing that  experiment  has  not  given  me  reason  to 
reject.  I  try  to  be  reasonable  and  recognize  merit 
wherever  it  exists.  It  has  always  seemed  to  me  that 
the  colt  hitched  with  a  runner  learns  to  trot  in  a  sort 
of  unnatural,  swinging,  sailing  way,  without  actually 
carrying  his  own  weight,  and  certainly  not  balancing 
himself.  They  go  fast  that  way  no  doubt.  A  boy  can 
take  hold  of  the  rear  bar  of  a  wagon  and  follow  it  on 
a  run  just  about  as  fast  as  a  horse  can  trot.  But  is  he 
running  naturally?  Is  he  balancing  himself?  He  is 
striding  about  twice  the  distance  he  can  naturally 
stride,  and  the  moment  he  releases  his  grip  on  the  bar 
he  tangles  his  legs  and  falls  headlong,  showing  that  he 
is  not  running,  but  being  carried  practically  through 
the  air.  We  hear  of  yearlings  trotting  quarters  in 
forty  seconds  hitched  to  a  runner's  bridle  until  we 
are  almost  forced  to  believe  that  2:40  is  the  natural 
speed  of  these  youngsters.  But  put  them  in  harness 
and  see  how  fast  tliey  can  trot  a  quarter.  When  we 
time  a  youngster  a  quarter  in  forty  seconds  at  Palo 
Alto  we  are  not  deceiving  ourselves,  for  he  does  it 
exactly  in  the  way  he  will  have  to  do  it  when  he  starts 
in  a  race.  The  colt  that  is  taught  to  go  fast  with  a 
runner  hitched  to  him  does  not  learn  to  pull  weight,  to 
balance  himself,  and  to  stride  out  on  his  own  responsi- 
bility. AYhen  he  is  taken  away  from  the  runner  and 
harnessed  to  a  sulky  he  is  green  and  out  of  his  element. 
He  misses  the  tow-line.  Does  it  not  seem  very  rational 
to  bring  the  colt  up  literally  in  the  way  he  should  go 
rather  than  waste  his  time  and  yours  in  teaching  him 


208  TRAINING   THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 

a  style  of  trotting  that  will  never  be  of  any  use  to  nim 
on  the  track?  Let  him  learn  something  he  is  going  to 
do,  in  the  way  he  is  going  to  do  it,  rather  than  m  the 
way  he  is  not  going  to  do  it.  I  believe  the  action  of  a 
great  many  good  colts  has  been  spoiled,  and  the 
natural  smoothness  and  balance  destroyed  by  this 
3^anking  around  with  a  runner.  Kemember  that  bal- 
ance is  a  very  delicate  thing.  Suppose  you  are  running 
at  full  speed,  and  your  head  is  suddenly  drawn  to  one 
side,  do  you  think  the  stroke  can  be  maintained  true 
and  even  ?  Xot  at  all.  So  this  systematic  unbalancing 
of  the  colt  cannot  fail  to  work  injury.  The  theory,  of 
course,  is  that  the  colt  goes  ahead  of  the  horse,  but 
will  any  man  who  watches  this  style  of  training  for 
an  hour  tell  me  that  this  theory  is  strictly  followed,  or 
can  be  strictly  followed,  in  practice  ?  If  it  is  I  have 
never  seen  it.  The  colt's  head  is  hauled  and  jerked 
this  way  and  that ;  now  he  is  going  too  fast  and  is 
pulled  back  ;  again  he  is  going  too  slow  and  is  towed  by 
the  head ;  then  he  goes  too  far  out  on  the  turns  and 
his  head  is  yanked  around  sideways ;  next  he  goes  too 
close  and  is  jostled  b}^  the  runner.  I  prefer  to  let  a 
colt  go  in  his  own  way,  balancing  and  striding 
naturally,  and  holding  his  head  in  its  natural  position. 
You  ask  what  the  special  advantages  of  work  in  the 
miniature  track  are.  It  educates  the  colt  to  stick  to 
the  trot,  and  to  make  that  his  natural  order  of  loco- 
motion. He  learns  that  trotting  is  what  he  is  Avanted 
to  do,  and  he  learns  to  do  it  well.  The  first  education 
of  his  life  is  in  trotting,  and  it  grows  upon  him  with 
his  age.  He  has  to  rely  upon  himself,  for  he  does  what 
he    does    of    himself,    and    without    assistance.     His 


EARLY   PROMISE    SHOWN.  209 

natural  action  is  developed,  and  as  he  develops  speed 
he  acquires  perfection  of  balance,  and  gains  complete 
control  of  liis  feet,  his  legs  and  all  the  muscles  that  are 
brought  into  play  in  trotting.  When  he  breaks  he  is 
promptly  reminded  that  he  has  made  a  mistake,  and  he 
soon  learns  to  correct  it  quickly  and  neatly.  The 
youngster's  mind  is  receptive;  like  a  child,  what  he 
learns  young  becomes  second  nature  to  him,  and  the 
trotting  habit  becomes  fixed  at  the  same  that  greater 
speed,  steadiness  and  directness  of  action  is  being 
acquired. 

The  development  of  wind  and  muscle  is  another  of 
the  great  benefits  of  this  work.  The  well-fed,  healthy 
colt  that  is  daily  worked  will  be  a  far  stouter  as  well 
as  a  far  speedier  two-year-old  than  the  one  that  has 
run  idle.  His  muscles  will  be  not  only  fuller,  but 
harder  and  of  better  tone.  His  lungs  and  wind  will 
have  developed  and  the  action  of  heart  and  lungs  will 
better  meet  the  trainino^  test.  You  will  see  the  vounsf- 
ster  blow  out  after  his  work,  and  as  the  work  con- 
tinues you  will  trace  the  development  of  lung  capacity 
in  the  gradual  improvement  in  wind.  After  the  colt 
has  been  worked  in  the  track  a  while  it  will  take  more 
work  to  "  blow  him  out,"  and  his  wind  will  be  finer. 
You  will  see  the  colt  gain  in  muscular  strength  and 
general  stoutness,  and  every  day  become  more  and 
more  a  horse. 

The  action  and  balance  of  the  colt  in  the  miniature 
track  you  will  observe  is  his  natural  action  and 
balance,  and  you  must  study  from  it  in  part  how  to 
treat  him  in  the  future.  Observe  well  the  way  he  car- 
ries his  head,  and  let  that  be  your  guide  when  you 


210  TRAINING   THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 

come  to  adjust  his  check-rein.  The  check  is  a  support, 
not  a  curbing  arrangement  to  twist  a  horse's  head  and 
neck  out  of  their  natural  position.  If  3^ou  stud\^  his 
balance  and  his  action  here,  you  will  not  be  a]:>t  to 
make  many  mistakes  in  "hanging"  him  in  harness, 
shoes  and  sulky. 

Another  very  important  point,  and  especially  to 
those  that  have  many  youngsters  to  train,  is  the  fact 
that  the  miniature  track  enables  you  to  select  those 
of  your  colts  that  will  best  repay  the  labor  and  expense 
of  training.  Let  me  work  a  lot  of  colts  on  this  track 
for  three  months  and  I  will  pick  out  the  stars,  just  as 
surelj^  as  the^^  can  be  known  three  years  later.  All 
our  famous  youngsters  distinguished  themselves  on  the 
miniature  track.  They  gave  the  promise  of  their  future 
greatness  there.  Sunol  and  Palo  Alto,  Manzanita  and 
Bonita,  Hinda  Kose  and  all  the  Beautiful  Bells  family 
have  been  stars  of  the  kindergarten,  just  as  the}^  were 
afterward  stars  on  the  sterner  battle-field  of  the  turf. 
And  this  fact  proves  more  than  any  other  the  truth  of 
what  I  have  contended — that  this  is  above  all  the  best 
natural  method  of  training  young  trotters  no^v  extant. 
If  it  were  not  a  natural  system  it  Avould  not  prove  so 
true  an  index  of  the  capacit}^  which  the  horse  is  after- 
ward destined  to  exliibit. 


FEEDING.  211 


CHAPTEK  XYIIL 

YOUXG     COLTS     TO     BE     LIBERALLY     FED COLTS     CAN     BE 

SAFELY     WORKED     TWICE     A     DAY     IF     NECESSITY     RE- 
QUIRES    IT BREAKING    TO     HARNESS THE     BITTING 

RIG LEARNING    TO     GO     BY    THE     REIN IN     DOUBLE 

HARNESS    FIRST THEN   IN    SINGLE    HARNESS SKELE- 
TON   WAGON    BEFORE     SULKY FIND     OUT     WHAT    YOU 

ARE    GOING   TO   DO    BEFORE  YOU   TRY  TO   DO  IT — 'ADOPT 

A  PROGRA:VOIE the   necessity  of  keeping  the  GAIT 

SQUARE  AND  PRESERVING  THE  NATURAL  BALANCE. 

It  is  not  my  purpose  to  here  refer  at  length  to  the 
feeding  and  iveepmg  of  colts  and  horses.  I  will  treat 
on  these  details  at  another  place.  However,  as  we  are 
noAV  working  our  colt  the  reader  may  properly  be 
reminded  that  it  h  important  to  see  that  the  young- 
ster is  kept  strong  and  stout.  A  very  good  diet  at 
this  stage  is,  besides  the  usual  hay,  ground  oats  for 
the  morning  meal,  and  at  night  a  dish  of  ground  oats, 
barley  and  a  dash  of  bran  steamed,  the  right  ])ropor- 
tion  being  about  three  parts  of  oats  to  one  of  barley. 
Give  the  colts  all  they  will  eat  up  clean.  A  colt  can- 
not get  too  fat  before  he  is  two  years  old.  Between 
his  growth  and  his  worlv  all  he  can  eat  will  be  assimi- 
lated. The  rule  is  that  colts  go  back  in  condition  after 
weaning.  This  is  not  as  it  should  be,  for  a  colt  that  is 
properly  fed  and  cared  for  will  improve  after  weaning. 


212  TEAINING   THE   TEOTTING    HOESE. 

The  fact  that  his  growth  is  arrested  shows  that  after 
weaning  he  has  insufficient  or  unsuitable  food,  and 
every  breeder  should  be  watchful  at  this  period,  for  a 
set-back  in  the  first  year  is  never  made  up  for.  Feed 
them  well,  and  especially  if  you  are  working  the  colt 
see  that  he  is  getting  plenty  of  good  food.  You  will 
not  hurt  him  by  giving  him  too  much  at  this  age,  for 
he  will  not  eat  too  much. 

The  colt  will  be  worked  in  the  miniature  track  in 
the  manner  described  until  he  is,  sa}^  fourteen  months 
old,  when  he  will  be  broken  to  harness.  In  judging  of 
how  much  work  he  should  have  both  before  and  after 
he  is  broken  to  harness,  you  will  be  guided  largelv  by 
what  you  expect  to  do.  If  he  is  to  be  driven  for  an 
early  record  as  a  yearling  or  two-year-old,  he  will  re- 
quire pretty  strong  work,  while  if  he  has  no  engage- 
ments until  later  his  education  will  be  more  gradual. 
But  do  not  under  any  circumstances  let  \^our  anxiet}^ 
for  early  reputation  get  away  with  your  judgment. 
Eemember  the  injunction  I  have  already  sought  to 
impress  upon  tho  reader — do  not  overdo  it. 

We  wdll  suppose  we  have  worked  our  colt  every  day 
in  the  miniature  track,  and  now  that  he  is  a  strong 
youngster,  just  past  a  year  old,  it  is  time  to  get  him 
into  harness.  At  Palo  Alto  we  send  him  to  the 
"  breaking  barn,"  and  if  you  are  a  large  breeder  you 
will  have  a  department  of  that  kind  in  your  stables. 

However,  as  far  as  these  instructions  go,  it  does  not 
matter  whether  you  have  a  breaking  barn  or  not — it  is 
the  modus  ojoerandi  pursued  with  each  colt  that  you 
are  interested  in,  rather  than  knowing  how  to  arrange 
to  do  it  by  wholesale.     The  first  lesson  in  this  breaking 


BREAKING. 


213 


is  to  get  the  colt  into  the  bitting  rig.  This  consists  of 
saddle,  breeching,  crouper  and  bridle.  The  bridle  will 
have  an  ordinary  side-check,  and  the  bit  will  be  a 
snaffle,  with  a  joint  in  the  center.  You  will  have 
become  so  familiar,  by  this  time,  with  the  way  the  colt 
carries  his  head  that  you  can  readily  adjust  the  check 
just  right,  and  be  sure  not  to  have  it  too  tight.  Lead 
him  around  in  this  every  day  for  three  or  four  days. 
After  taking  the  harness  off  work  him  in  the  paddock ; 
then  turn  him  out  for  a  run  of  a  few  hours.  Then 
take  him  to  the  miniature  track  and  give  him  his  usual 
work  with  the  bitting  rig  on,  and  in  a  day  or  two  you 
can  let  him  loose  in  the  track,  or  in  a  paddock,  with 
the  rig  on. 

After  he  has  become  pretty  well  accustomed  to  this 
harness,  make  an  addition  to  it  in  the  shape  of  long 
reins.  Let  one  man  lead  him  at  first  while  the  other 
walks  behind  driving  and  seeking  to  guide  him  by 
the  rein.  Learn  him  to  go  ahead,  stop,  back,  turn,  etc. 
After  a  lesson  or  two  the  man  at  his  head  may  be  dis- 
pensed with,  for  if  you  have  trer.ted  him  right  he  will 
now  understand  what  the  rein  means.  Be  firm,  but 
not  harsh  with  him,  and  see  that  the  harness  does  not 
chafe  or  irritate  him  at  any  point,  and  watch  that  the 
bit  does  not  hurt  his  mouth.  Remember  that  the 
reason  he  does  not  do  what  you  want  him  to  at  first  is 
not  because  he  is  contrary  or  stubborn,  but  because  he 
does  not  understand  what  you  want.  Do  not  mix  up 
ignorance  and  perversity  in  seeking  for  the  reasons 
why  he  will  sometimes  do  everything  but  what  you 
want  him  to.  \Yhen  you  are  sure  that  he  understands 
what  you  want  and  will  not  do  it,  it  is  time  enough  to 


214  TRAINING  THE  TKOTTING  HORSE. 

convince  him  that  you  are  the  managing  partner  in 
the  combination.  There  is  nothing  more  senseless 
and  injurious  than  punishing  a  horse  or  a  colt  for 
not  doing  what  he  does  not  understand  you  to  want 
him  to  do. 

After  you  have  gotten  him  thoroughly  accustomed 
to  the  harness  and  obedient  to  the  rein,  hitch  him  to 
any  hght  vehicle  by  the  side  of  a  reliable,  gentle  horse 
and  drive  him  double.  For  the  first  time,  about  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  will  be  enough  to  go  in  a  nice,  easy, 
steady  fashion,  then  drive  your  team  back  and  quietly 
take  the  youngster  out  of  the  harness.  Continue  this 
daily  driving  for  some  time,  increasing  it  as  it  con- 
tinues, hitching  him  alternately  each  da}"  on  either 
side  of  his  old-fashioned  mate.  This  work  is  not  for 
speed,  but  to  thoroughly  educate  him  to  harness.  He 
is  ofettins'  his  regfular  work  on  the  miniature  track 
every  day,  besides  the  harness  education,  so  you  will 
be  careful  that  between  the  trotting  and  the  driving 
he  is  not  overdone. 

After  a  little  while  of  this  education  he  will  be  a 
sensible  and  decorous  horse  in  harness — unless  he  be  a 
natural  fool,  for,  unfortunately,  there  are  born  fools 
among  horses  as  well  as  among  men — and  will  be  quite 
thoroughly  broken  in  everything  as  far  as  his  experi- 
ence has  gone.  ^Now,  we  will  shoe  him  with  a  neat, 
light  shoe  or  plate  behind,  for  it  will  shortly  be  neces- 
sary to  have  him  wear  toe-boots,  or  "  scalpers"  which 
the  shoe  must  hold.  You  will,  of  course,  have  been 
watchful  all  the  while  that  he  has  not  been  striking 
himself  at  an}^  place,  and  is  not,  therefore,  afraid  to 
extend  himself. 


IN    SINGLE    HARNESS.  215 

His  next  lesson  is  in  single  harness,  and  if  all  goes 
well  he  will  before  he  knows  it  be  going  along  by  him- 
self just  as  steadily  as  with  the  old  horse.  Fitch  him 
as  usual  with  the  "old  reliable;"  go  a  little  way,  re- 
turn, quietly  take  him  out  of  the  double  rig,  and  hitch 
him  to  a  skeleton  wagon.  I  prefer  the  skeleton  wagon 
to  any  other  vehicle  for  breaking  purposes.  I  place 
my  feet  on  the  axle,  one  on  either  side,  and  can  thus 
assist  the  rein  in  steering  him.,  teaching  him  to  turn, 
etc.  I  must  confess  that  a  "  break  cart "  is  my  pet 
aversion  among  training  equipments.  They  are  in 
o-reat  favor  with  some,  but  as  far  as  I  am  concerned  I 
have  no  use  for  them  in  my  course  of  education.  I 
believe  that  carts  are  responsible  for  spoiling  more 
colts,  knocking  them  out  of  their  gait,  etc.,  than  any 
other  single  cause.  They  are  long,  stiff,  shaky,  lumber- 
ing vehicles,  that  must  be  a  constant  jarring  handicap 
to  a  young  colt.  While  many  men  who  use  these 
"  break  carts  "  to  keep  young  colts  straight  with,  are 
good  trainers  on  the  whole,  I  have  as  little  respect  for 
their  judgment  in  this  particular  as  I  have  for  the  cart 
itself.  - 

You  do  not  work  him  for  speed  in  the  skeleton 
wagon,  but  principally  to  complete  educating  him  to 
single  harness.  Drive  him  easy  and  do  not  drive  him 
too  far,  for  you  are  not  now  teaching  him  to  drive  fast, 
but  rather  to  drive  well.  Keep  this  work  up  until  he 
is  thoroughly  docile  and  intelligent  in  harness,  so  that 
you  can  depend  upon  his  doing  what  you  want  him  to 
i\o  in  obedience  to  voice  and  rein.  When  you  have 
done  this  your  colt  is  ready  for  the  sulky,  and  now  you 
can  congratulate  yourself  upon  having  his  education 
well  under  way. 


216  TRAINING    THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 

He  is  now  a  yearling  past — it  is  the  early  summer  of 
his  second  year — and  all  the  preliminary  lessons  hav- 
ino"  been  learned  while  he  was  at  the  same  time  takinoc 
his  regular  work  on  the  miniature  track,  the  time  has 
arrived  when  his  regular  track  work  will  begin.  But 
before  you  begin  you  will  do  well  to  know  just  what 
you  want  to  do.  Do  you  want  to  trot  him  as  a  year- 
ling ?  or  do  you  propose  to  go  easy,  give  him  a  gradual 
and  safe  education,  and  not  start  him  until  the  fall  he 
is  two  3^ears  old,  or  perhaps  not  until  he  is  three? 
Map  out  your  programme  so  that  you  can  work  intelli- 
gently. Knowing  what  you  are  going  to  do  and  pre- 
paring to  do  it  is  half  the  battle.  There  are  a  great 
many  Wilkins  Micawbers  handling  horses,  who  are 
always  waiting  for  something  to  turn  up,  and  who 
think  they  are  always  ready  for  it,  when  in  fact  they 
are  never  ready  for  anything.  The  sailor  who  sails  by 
chart  and  compass  and  ahvays  has  in  mind  the  course 
he  is  steering  and  the  port  for  which  he  is  bound,  will 
make  a  better  trip  than  the  one  who  is  drifting  with 
the  current  and  waiting  for  a  favoring  wind  or  tide. 
The  famous  recipe  for  cooking  the  hare  began  right : 
"First  catch  your  hare."  So  at  the  beginning  of  train- 
your  colt  in  earnest,  make  up  your  mind  what  you  are 
going  to  do  before  you  try  to  do  it.  If  you  are  "  lay- 
ing for  "  a  two-year-old  stake  work  him  with  an  eye  to 
that  stake,  and  don't  be  distracted  from  your  purpose 
by  the  little  things  that  come  along  in  the  meantime. 
I^eep  your  eye  on  that  stake,  and  in  the  immortal 
words  of  an  American  philosopher  "Say  nothing  but 
saw  wood."  In  short,  adopt  a  programme  and  stick 
to  it. 


ADOPT  A  progra:mme.  217 

If  you  mean  to  trot  the  colt  as  a  ^^earling  you  will 
require  to  work  him  twice  a  day  to  make  sure  of  the 
best  results.  The  lessons  are  short,  but  it  is  sharp, 
speeding-making  work ;  and  where  one  work-out  a  day 
will  be  all  a  mature  horse  needs,  you  can  give  the  colt  a 
number  of  fast  brushes  in  the  morning  and  again  in  the 
afternoon  without  injury,  provided  the  work  is  done 
with  judgment  and  never  overdone.  After  exercise,  all 
young  animals,  as  I  have  said,  recover  more  quickly 
than  older  ones.  A  good,  stout  colt  can  be  judiciously 
and  advantageously  worked  twice  a  day  until  he  is 
about  two  years  old,  but  remember  the  work  must 
never  be  allowed  to  tell  on  him.  He  must  not  lose 
his  stoutness,  or  what  goes  with  it  at  this  age,  his 
spirit  and  courage.  At  the  first  sign  of  track-weari- 
ness you  should  ''letup."  There  can  be  nothing  but 
harm  come  of  working  a  jaded,  failing,  track-sick  and 
spiritless  colt. 

I  cannot  too  strongly  impress  upon  the  reader  who 
seeks  to  profit  by  my  experiences  the  importance  of 
care  at  the  point  at  which  we  have  now  arrived  with 
regard  to  checking  and  balancing  the  young  trotter, 
upon  w^hich  greatly  depends  the  purity  of  his  gait.  He 
is  just  to  begin  his  track- work,  and  it  is  very  essential 
that  he  begin  it  right.  I  hold  that  if  your  horse  is  not 
trotting  perfectly  square,  if  there  is  any  hitching  or 
roughness  in  his  gait,  or  if  he  is  in  any  way  out  of  bal- 
ance, he  is  not  developing  anything  but  faulty  action, 
and  can  certainly  not  develop  speed.  Let  it  be  under- 
stood at  the  outset  that  if  you  can  get  your  horse  in  a 
hitching  and  labormg  way  over  a  quarter  in  thirty-five 
seconds,  and  your  neighbor's  colt  can  trot  it  in  forty 


218  TRAINING   THE   TROTTING    HORSE. 

seconds,  square  and  smooth,  his  footfalls  marking  time 
as  trul}^  as  the  tick  of  the  most  perfect  chronometer,  he 
is  doing  far  better  than  you  are,  and  in  calculating  on 
the  basis  of  a  quarter  in  thirty-five  seconds  you  are 
only  deceiving  yourself.  It  is  not  what  he  can  do  in 
any  irregular,  jerky,  scrambling  way  that  3^ou  must 
judge  by.    It  is  idiat  lie  can  do  rigid. 

Let  me  illustrate.  There  was  a  certain  colt  at  Palo 
Alto  that  showed  remarkably  well  in  the  paddock,  but 
after  Ave  got  him  in  harness  we  found  that  he  could  not 
show  a  trace  of  respectable  speed.  I  drove  him  one  day 
and  found  he  could  not  trot  a  three-minute  gait,  do  what 
I  would  with  him.  After  vain  and  discouraging  work  I 
gave  him  up  for  that  day,  thinking  that,  perhaps,  he 
was  out  of  humor  and  sulk\^,  and  a  little  tired.  The 
next  day  I  tried  him  again,  but  with  no  better  results. 
Then  I  was  in  a  quandary,  and  whistled  a  tune  while  I 
thouo-ht  it  over.  I  knew  he  was  a  trotter  in  the 
miniature  track,  and  it  was  just  as  clear  that  he  was 
not  one  in  harness.  So  I  unhitched  him  and  turned 
him  into  the  miniature  track,  and  away  he  went  as  well 
as  ever.  A  little  study  showed  hoAV  he  carried  his 
head  and  how  he  balanced  himself.  I  changed  the 
check,  harnessed  him  again,  let  his  head  free 
so  that  he  could  carry  himself  in  his  own  way, 
and  that  same  day  he  showed  me  a  quarter  in 
better  than  forty  seconds.  In  studying  how  he 
trotted  without  harness  I  ''went  back  to  first  prin- 
ciples," and,  in  this  return  to  nature,  found  the 
little  causes  that  produced  such  important  results. 
I  might  have  gone  on  experimenting  until  doomsday 
with  weights  and  shoes  and  I  could  never  have  gotten 


AX    UXBALAXCED    COLT.  219 

that  colt  riglit,  for  the  reason  that  his  head  was 
checked  out  of  its  natural  poise,  and  his  whole  carriage 
was  unbalanced.  When  you  run  fast  or  walk  fast  you 
carry  your  head,  your  arms,  your  body  in  a  certain 
way,  and  if  you  are  forced  to  carry  your  head  higher 
or  lower,  or  to  one  side,  all  you  have  to  do  is  to  try  to 
get  up  speed  in  that  position  to  appreciate  what  it  may 
mean  in  a  colt's  action  to  check  his  head  an  inch  or  two 
out  of  its  natural  place. 

Therefore,  before  you  take  him  on  the  track  for  the 
first  time,  it  will  be  a  good  thing  to  adopt  as  a  founda- 
tion principle  to  act  upon  throughout,  that  the  natural 
balance  and  action  must  be  preserved,  and  that  the 
moment  your  colt  begins  to  hitch  or  become  unbalanced 
and  irregular  in  his  gait  he  is  doing  no  good.  Keep 
him  going  true,  smooth  and  level,  don't  drive  him 
faster  than  he  can  go  squarely  and  he  will  develop 
speed  if  it  is  in  him.  "  The  matter  depends  not  upon 
the  doing,  but  upon  the  manner  of  its  doing." 


220  TRAINING   THE   TROTTING    HORSE. 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

FIRST    WORK    IN    HARNESS SHARP    BRUSHES AVOID    JOG- 
GING,  SWEATING    AND    SCRAPING THE    COLT    MUST    BE 

KEPT     STRONG    AND     STOUT COLTS     CANNOT    ALL     BE 

WORKED    ALIKE — IMITATION ALL    DEPENDS    ON    THE 

trainer's    FITNESS — AN  OCCASIONAL   LET-UP "  SPEED, 

SPEED,    MORE    SPEED,"  THE    GREAT    ESSENTIAL SHOES 

AND  WEIGHTS EXPERIENCE   WITH    CHIMES    AND    CLAY. 

In  tracing  our  colt's  career  we  have  now  reached 
the  point  where  he  is  going  clever  in  single  harness 
and  ready  to  hitch  u]:>  for  his  first  lesson  on  the  regular 
track.  He  has  as  yet  no  shoes  in  front,  but  is  shod  be- 
hind. Put  on  all  the  boots  that  are  necessary — all  that 
caution  and  safety  demand.  Colts  need  practically  no 
jogging,  yearlings  certainly  none  whatever.  Of  course 
no  colt  or  horse  should  be  worked  soon  after  a  meal ; 
and  you  will  find  the  yearling,  always  a  trifle  nervous, 
ready  to  work  as  soon  as  you  get  him  on  the  track. 
Start  him  up  at  a  good,  fast  jog  for  about  150  to  200 
yards.  Then  turn  slowly,  giving  him  time  to  get  his 
breath,  and  let  him  brush  back  a  little  faster.  After 
going  about  the  same  distance,  stop  again,  turning 
slowly,  and  send  him  back  again,  this  time  carrying 
him  right  up  to  his  clip  at  some  point  of  the  brush, 
preferably  near  the  end  of  it.  In  all  his  Avork,  especi- 
ally when  the  brushes  are  sharp,  be  careful  to  let  him 


EARLY   WORK.  221 

get  his  wind  at  each  turn,  and  after  this  sharp  brush 
that  I  have  just  described  give  him  a  little  longer  to 
breathe  than  you  did  before.  Xow  straighten  him  out 
and  brush  him  up  the  stretch  again  about  the  same  dis- 
tance, going  up  to  his  clip  about  the  last  of  it,  and  that 
will  be  enough  work  for  that  day.  Take  him  in,  where 
no  cold  draft  can  blow  on  him,  and  take  off  the  harness 
and  boots,  give  him  a  swallow  or  two  of  water,  rub 
him  off  lightly,  and  let  the  boy  walk  him  a  little,  then 
put  him  in  his  box  and  leave  him  undisturl)ed,  so  that 
he  can  lay  down,  as  a  colt  A^oungster  will,  and  rest. 

As  I  have  said,  young  colts  require  little  jogging  and 
no  sweating  or  scraping.  Young  animals  do  not  take 
on  fat  internally  like  matured  ones,  and  there  is  in  fact 
no  superfluous  flesh  in  this  rapidlv  growing  period. 
The  colt  requires  not  to  be  reduced,  but  ratlaer  to  be 
made  stouter  and  strono^er.  Phvsicino:,  sweatino-  and 
scraping  are  just  the  things  no  colt  can  take  and 
thrive.  It  stops  his  growth  and  muscular  development 
to  strip  him  of  his  flesh,  for  the  growing  body,  the 
maturing  muscle  and  bone,  need  that  nourishment 
which  is  onlv  afforded  in  a  condition  of  marked  thrifti- 
ness.  Only  in  this  condition  will  the  colt  be  in  good 
fettle  and  spirit,  and  capable  of  taking  his  work  with 
relish  and  being  benefited  by  it.  It  therefore  behooves 
the  trainer  to  watch  constantly  that  the  colt  does  not 
"go  back"  in  condition,  for  this  loss  of  condition  may 
be  at  first  almost  imperceptible.  It  is  all  the  better  if 
the  colt  carries  a  fair  degree  of  flesh,  which  will  not 
be  of  the  "soft"  kind  with  the  work  here  prescribed. 
Keep  him  in  good,  vigorous  condition,  so  that  he  will 
perspire  freely  with  work,  but  leave  heavy  blankets, 
hoods,  sweating  and  scraping  alone 


222  TRAINING  THE  TROTTING  HORSE. 

The  amount  of  work  will,  of  course,  differ  with 
different  colts.  Xo  two  can  be  worked  exactly  alike, 
and  here  will  come  in  play  the  natural  fitness  of  the 
trainer.  If  he  is  by  nature  fitted  for  a  trainer,  his  own 
perceptions,  or  we  might  say  his  instinct,  will  teach 
him  how  to  discriminate  between  different  colts — to 
see  where  one  requires  to  be  handled  a  httle  differently 
from  another,  whether  b\^  reason  of  size,  temper,  or 
natural  capacity.  The  trouble  with  the  great  majority 
of  men  who  handle  trotting-horses  is  that  they  are  not 
thinkers  but  imitators.  They  saw  Dan  Mace  or  Budd 
Doble  or  John  Splan  do  something  with  a  certain 
horse,  and  the}^  go  right  home  and  do  it  with  their 
horses,  under  the  impression  that  because  a  famous 
driver  does  it  with  one  horse  it  is  necessaril}^  just  the 
thing  for  all  horses.  No  mere  imitator  can  do  anything 
intelligently,  much  less  train  horses,  because  to  work 
intelligently  he  must  understand  the  reason  for  ever}^- 
thing  he  does.  Doing  a  thing  that  you  saw  somebody 
else  do  without  your  knowing  why  he  did  it  is  just 
about  as  wise  as  taking  a  certain  sort  of  medicine 
because  it  is  taken  by  somebody  else,  whose  disease  you 
do  not  know  the  nature  of.  There  were  never,  proba- 
bly, two  horses  in  the  world  to  which  full  justice  could  be 
done  by  treating  them  exactl}^  alike.  No  cast-iron  rules 
can  be  laid  down  ;  they  must  be  taken  as  elastic  enough 
to  admit  of  modification  to  meet  the  requirements  of 
thousands  of  different  cases.  So,  while  I  am  explain- 
ing in  these  chapters  what  we  might  call  the  average 
procedure  at  Palo  Alto,  defining  the  general  principles 
and  methods,  and  approximating  as  nearly  as  it  can  be 
approximated  a  course  of  training  that  can  be  advan- 


i:mitation.  223 

tageously  followed,  it  must  be  remembered  that  all 
will,  in  the  end,  depend  upon  the  judgment  and  fitness 
of  the  trainer  who  seeks  to  apply  this  system.  Good 
tools  never  made  a  mechanic  skillful ;  college  education 
never  made  a  man  brilliant  and  talented ;  good  train- 
ing never  made  a  trotter  of  a  colt  that  had  not  natural 
speed,  and  the  best  s^^stem  of  training  in  the  world 
will  not  make  a  great  trainer  of  any  man  who  has  not 
natural  fitness  for  his  business.  Xo  amount  of  instruc- 
tion and  experience  will  make  a  good  trainer  of  a  man 
to  whom  nature  has  not  given  the  qualities  required  in 
successfully  and  intelligently  training  horses.  They 
may  be  called  gifts  of  the  eye  and  the  hand,  but 
they  are  more  than  that,  for  behind  the  well-directed 
eye  and  hand  must  be  a  cool,  active  and  well-balanced 
brain. 

The  first  day's  training  in  harness,  which  I  have 
described  in  this  chapter,  should  be  adhered  to  without 
any  increase  for  the  first  ten  davs  or  so.  From  four  to 
six  brushes  will  be  sufficient  at  first,  but  in  say  two 
weeks  it  can  be  increased  a  little.  Don't  increase  the 
length  of  the  brushes,  but  the  number  and  speed  of 
them,  but  this  increase  must  be  slow  and  gradual, 
according  to  the  size  and  capacity  of  the  colt,  and  the 
relish  he  shows  for  the  work. 

It  is  a  good  plan  to  let  the  colt  up  for  two  or  three 
days,  every  three  or  four  weeks,  for  a  run  out  and  a 
rest.  This  will  freshen  him  up,  and  these  breaks  in 
the  monotony  will,  if  he  is  not  overdone  or  bars  lily 
Avorked,  be  an  effective  preventative  of  track  sickness 
and  staleness.  After  each  little  let  up  he  will  go  to 
work  again  with   more   keenness   and  vim.     Barring 


224  TRAINING    THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 

these  rests,  the  colt's  work  will  go  on  every  day — 
Sundays  excepted — presuming  that  he  has  been  kept 
well  and  right.  When  he  is  two  years  old  he  will  take 
more  work,  but  not  a  greath^  increased  distance.  I  am 
not  prepared  to  say  that  the  length  of  the  brush 
should  ever  be  increased  to  over  a  quarter  of  a  mile. 
We  are  now,  mark  you,  working  our  colt  for  speed. 
You  will,  no  doubt,  inquire  how  a  horse  can  trot  a  race 
without  being  worked  mite  heats.  You  cannot  cut 
much  of  a  figure  in  a  race  without  speed,  and,  after 
you  have  developed  speed  sufficient  to  go  away  from 
home  with,  it  Avill  be  time  enough  to  condition  hnn  to 
carry  it.  You  must  have  the  speed  before  you  can  win 
races.  It  is  of  no  use  to  condition  your  horse  to  go 
mile  heats,  if  you  haven't  first  got  the  speed  to  beat 
somebody  else.  You  will  see,  then,  that  the  Palo  Alto 
system  proceeds  on  the  logic  of  the  author  of  the 
recipe  already  quoted  for  cooking  the  hare  :  "  First 
catch  your  hare."  We  aim  to  first  develop  the  speed, 
and  after  that  to  condition  the  horse  to  carry  it.  The 
merit  of  this  system  of  training  in  short,  sharp  brushes 
lies  in  the  fact  that  it  is  the  quickest  and  most  efi'ective 
way  of  at  once  toning  up  and  hardening  the  muscles, 
and  bringing  out  a  high  rate  of  speed — of  teaching  the 
colt  to  trot  fast.  A  noted  racing-man,  when  asked 
what  the  first  essential  quality  in  a  race-horse  was, 
answered,  "  Speed,"  that  the  next  was  "  speed,"  and, 
after  that,  "  more  speed."  After  you  have  your  colt 
going  quarters  in  thirty-five  seconds,  or  thirt3^-six 
seconds,  or  thirty-eight  seconds,  whenever  you  have 
had  him  show  you  enough  speed  and  a  big  margin  to 
spare  to  do  what  you  are  going  to  require  of  him,  you 


FIRST    HAVE    THE    SPEED.  225 

can  condition  him  for  mile  and  repeat  performances. 
You  may  have  him  keyed  up  as  hard  as  nails,  but  if 
your  competitor  can  go  a  quarter  in  thirty-five  seconds 
and  you  can  go  in  thirty-seven,  he  will  beat  you  all  the 
way,  and  do  it  easy,  while  you  are  straining  and 
struo^Hino^,  and  o-ameness  and  condition  won't  save  vou 
if  the  other  horse  is  half-fit.  He  will  be  fresh  after 
your  colt  is  dead  tired,  and  no  matter  how  game  your 
colt  is  he  will  have  him  a  beaten  horse  in  short  order, 
simply  because  he  can  do  with  ease  what  3^ou  cannot 
do  with  your  utmost  effort.  At  the  proper  place  I  will 
write  on  the  preparation  of  horses  for  races,  and  I 
here  merely  want  to  caution  you  that  a  two-year-old 
colt  requires  verv  little  drilling  at  mile  heats.  Sunol 
trotted  in  2:18  as  a  two-year-old,  and  no  other  has  ever 
trotted  nearlv  so  fast.  Just  where  we  are  now — the 
spring  when  3'our  colt  is  two — is  a  good  time  to  glance 
back  at  the  chapter  where  her  training  is  described, 
and  see  how  many  mile-and-repeat  workings  she  had. 
"When  you  have  developed  whatever  measure  of  speed 
you  beheve  sufficient  to  win  the  colt's  engagement, 
you  can  fit  him  for  the  race  as  Sunol  was  fitted,  but 
Tememher  you  must  first  have  the  speed.  G  amen  ess  and 
condition  and  all  that  won't  prevail  over  a  competitor 
that  can  throw  dust  in  your  eyes  while  going  within 
himself. 

At  the  beginning  of  work  on  the  regular  track,  I 
have  thought  it  well  to  explain  the  purpose  and 
effectiveness  of  the  brush  system ;  for,  just  as  1  have 
remarked  upon  the  necessity  of  knowing  why  you  do 
things  in  a  certain  way,  I  have  felt  it  my  duty  not 
only  to  tell  how  we  handle  colts,  but  '•'  the  whv  and 
the  wherefore  "  as  well. 


226  TRAINING    THE   TROTTING    HORSE. 

When,  for  this  purpose,  we  digressed,  Ave  had  just 
been  giving  the  youngster  his  first  few  days  of  work 
for  speed  in  harness.  It  is  now  time  to  shoe  him. 
Our  two-year-olds  at  Palo  Alto  carry,  as  a  rule,  from 
eight  to  ten  ounce  shoes  forward,  and  four  to  five 
ounces  behind.  At  another  place  I  will  discuss  shoeing^ 
and  its  kindred  subject  weighting,  but  will  here  remark 
that  the  least  possible  weight  with  which  you  can 
balance  the  colt  is  what  you  should  carry.  I  mean 
weight  in  the  shoe — not  toe-weights.  My  experience 
has  taught  me  to  almost  wholly  banish  toe-weights 
from  my  stable,  and  I  certainly  advise  the  reader  if  he 
be  starting  out  to  train  young  trotters  to  have  none  of 
them.  I  could  cite  many  cases  to  show  the  demoraliza- 
tion they  work,  but  will  content  myself  with  reference 
to  one  striking  instance.  That  was  the  case  of  Chimes, 
the  brother  of  Bell  Boy,  Hinda  Eose  and  St.  Bel.  I 
Avorked  him  as  a  two-year-old  with  ten-ounce  shoes 
forward.  With  that  balancing  he  trotted  for  me  a 
quarter  in  0:35,  and  three-quarters  at  a  2:24  gait. 
After  Mr.  Hamlin  got  him  he  put  toe-weights  on  him, 
and  he  seemed  to  at  once  lose  his  speed,  and  he  has,  as 
far  as  the  public  know,  never  recovered  it.  He  failed 
to  trot  for  Mr.  Hamlin  faster  than  2:30J  as  a  three- 
year-old.  He  showed  me  ability  to  trot  in  2:25  as  a 
tw^o-year-old,  to  make  a  very  safe  and  conservative 
estimate.  His  is  only  one  of  man}^  cases  I  could  cite 
w^here  toe-weights  worked  incalculable  harm. 

But  putting  superfluous  weight  on  the  toe  is  not  the 
only  way  in  which  we  sometimes  go  in  exactly  the 
wrong  direction  in  trying  to  strike  the  happy  medium 
in  balancing  trotters.     The  mare  Hinda  Kose,  whose 


TOE-WEIGHTS    AND    HEAVY    SHOES.  227 

history  I  have  given,  furnishes  an  illustration  ;  and  I 
learned  another  lesson  with  the  stallion  Clay.  AVhen 
he  was  a  two-year-old  I  put  on  eight-ounce  shoes,  but 
in  his  work  he  acted  as  though  he  wanted  more 
weight,  seeming  to  go  a  little  short  in  front,  and  not  to 
handle  his  fore  legs  promptly  enough.  I  then  put  on 
ten  ounces,  but  that  did  not  remed}^  the  trouble,  for  in 
three  or  four  days  he  seemed  to  require  still  more 
weight,  and  I  kept  on  adding  weight  until  he  carried 
eighteen  ounces  on  each  fore  foot.  (That,  remember, 
was  some  years  ago.)  Then  he  labored  in  the  shoul- 
ders, and  I  reduced  his  shoes  to  eio^ht  ounces  ao-ain, 
and  kept  him  at  a  gait  at  which  he  could  go  squarely. 
In  this  rig  he  could  show  quarters  right  around  thirty- 
five  seconds  in  his  two-vear-old  form.  The  followino: 
year  he  trotted  some  in  public  in  eight-ounce  shoes, 
and  took  a  record  of  2:34.  After  I  went  East  with  the 
stable  in  1884,  the  driver  who  worked  Clay,  believing 
he  needed  more  weight,  increased  his  front  shoes  to 
fifteen  ounces,  and  about  two-thirds  of  the  weight  was 
at  the  toe.  He  did  no  good  with  this  weight,  and  it 
caused  him  to  strike  his  elbows.  After  mv  return 
from  the  East  I  took  these  shoes  off,  put  on  eight- 
ounce  ones,  and  with  little  time  to  prepare  gave  him  a 
record  of  2:25  that  fall.  The  weight  I  put  on  in  the 
first  place  was  needless,  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  had 
I  from  the  outset  worked  him  in  light  shoes  and  not 
asked  him  to  go  faster  than  he  could  go  level  he  would 
have  ultimately  proved  a  better  horse. 


228  TRAINING  THE  TROTTING   HORSE. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

WEIGHT     IN     THE     SHOE  —  USE     AND     ABUSE THE     LAST 

RESORT WHEN     WEIGHT     IS     NEEDED  —  REDUCING 

VALUE     AND     NECESSITY      OF     EARLY      WOEK EARLY 

TRAINING       NECESSARY       FOR       HIGHEST      RESULTS      AT 

MATURITY IN      ACCORD     WITH      SCIENCE THE      ILL 

EFFECTS      OF      NEGLECTED      EDUCATION  A     CASE      IN 

POINT  —  A      VALUABLE     MARE     RUINED WORK     FEW 

MILES,  IF    ANY THE   MOUTH CHECKING    AND   DRIV- 
ING  THE     COLT   NOT     TO     BE     CONTROLLED     BY    MAIN 

STRENGTH TO    DRIVE    WITH    "•A    SILKEN    THREAD" 

.    LIGHT     HANDS NO    BREAKING    IF     POSSIBLE CATCH- 
ING  THE    WHIP SIDE    PULLING. 

I  HAVE  sought,  in  the  illustrations  just  related,  to 
show  that  we  are  too  apt  to  jump  to  the  conclusion 
that  colts  need  weight  when  the  difficulties  that  pre- 
sent themselves  could  be  remedied  without  resorting 
to  this  artificial  assistance.  I  need  not  enter  into  any 
argument  to  shoAV  that  the  ideal  trotter  will  trot 
barefooted,  needing  no  balancing  other  than  what 
nature  has  given  ;  and  that  the  use  of  the  shoe  is 
simply  to  protect  the  foot.  This  is  a  self-evident 
truth,  needing  no  elaboration.  Every  additional  ounce 
of  weight  has  its  detrimental  influences — it  may  be  a 
necessit}^  but  none  the  less  an  evil  because  a  necessary 
one.  You  will,  therefore,  endeavor  to  reduce  weight, 
and  do  not,  under  any  pretext,  increase  it  until  you 


WEIGHT.  229 

are  certain  nothing  else  will  remedj^  the  difficulty  you 
have  encountered.  It  is  a  very  nice  thing  to  know  just 
when  a  horse  wants  more  weight.  You  may  fancy  he 
does  not  handle  his  fore  legs  promptly  enough  ;  he  may 
break,  or  single-foot  if  urged,  while,  perhaps,  you  may 
notice  that  he  will  go  a  little  faster  if  you  pull  him  a 
little,  the  weight  on  the  rein  slightly  altering  the 
balance.  More  weight  in  the  shoe  may  be  required, 
and  may  prove  helpful.  If  you  decide  to  put  on 
weight,  and  it  remedies  the  trouble,  do  not  conclude 
that  it  will  ahva3^s  be  necessary  to  retain  it.  After  a 
reasonable  time  begin  to  reduce  it  gradually  until  you 
get  down,  if  possible,  to  eight  or  ten  ounces..  But  in 
nine  cases  out  of  ten,  where  more  weio-ht  is  thouo^ht 
necessarv,  the  real  cause  of  the  trouble  is  that  you  are 
asking  the  colt  to  go  a  little  faster  than  he  can.  True, 
weight  maj^  for  the  time,  help  his  speed ;  but,  on  the 
other  hand,  if  you  keep  working  him  at  a  rate  at 
which  he  can  go  scjuare  and  clean,  his  speed  will  natu- 
rally and  gradually  improve,  and  the  final  result  will  be 
better  than  if  you  had  resorted  to  artificial  appliances. 
I  will,  therefore,  again  say  :  Keep  the  colt  going  square 
and  true ;  do  not  be  impatient,  and  if  he  develops 
roughness  of  gait,  hitches,  or  becomes  generally 
unbalanced,  go  back  to  a  gait  at  ^\ hich  he  can  go  level 
and  seek  to  improve  his  speed  by  natural  training 
before  you  experiment  too  much  with  his  shoes.  If 
you  are  doing  pretty  well  in  a  plain  shoe  of  reasonable 
weight — say  eight  to  twelve  ounces — be  content ;  if 
you  are  carrying  more  than  that  allow  the  shoe  to 
graduall}^  decrease  in  weight.  By  gradually  decreas- 
ing I  mean  that  wear   will  lighten  it,  and  when  you 


230  TRAINING  THE  TROTTING  HORSE. 

replace  it  by  a  new  shoe,  if  the  colt  is  going  well,  have 
the  new  shoe  made,  not  the  weight  the  old  one  Avas 
when  it  was  new,  but  the  weight  it  now  is  after  being 
reduced  by  wear.  All  the  young  stars  of  1S89 — Sunol, 
Axtell,  Lillian  Wilkes,  Margaret  S.  and  Regal  Wilkes — 
carried  light  shoes.  When  horses  were  not  born 
trotters,  but  were  made  to  trot  artificially,  balancing 
by  great  weight  was,  in  some  cases,  necessary — but 
now  our  j^oungsters  are  bred  to  trot,  are  foaled  natu- 
rally-balanced trotters,  and  the  nearer  we  keep  to  nature 
the  better.  Other  things  being  equal,  the  horse  that 
carries  the  least  weight  will  stay  better,  go  faster  and 
remain  sounder  than  the  weight  carriers.  It  is  a  point 
the  importance  of  which  cannot  be  well  overrated, 
and  now,  when  you  are  handling  your  two-j^ear  old, 
it  is  well  to  keep  these  facts  in  clear  and  constant 
view. 

I  am  sometimes  asked  if,  in  the  case  of  colts  that  are 
not  intended  to  start  until  they  are  three  or  four  years 
old,  it  would  not  be  better  to  let  them  run  out  as  year- 
lings and  two-year-olds,  to  grow  up  in  their  free  and 
natural  way,  and  take  just  what  exercise  they  like. 
This  is  a  very  pretty  theory,  but  it  is  not  found  true  in 
practice.  I  have  already  referred  to  the  benefits  of 
early  work,  but  just  at  the  time  of  which  we  are  now 
writing,  when  you  are  working  the  tw 0-3^ ear-old, 
another  word  may  be  in  place.  You  may  not  intend 
to  start  your  colt  early,  and  in  reading  these  observa- 
tions on  training  you  may  think  that  Marvin  is  only 
writing  for  the  benefit  of  men  who  want  early  records. 
That  would  be  a  wrong  conclusion.  I  have  already 
explained  that  the  amount  of  work  will  vary  according 


EARLY    EDUCATION.  231 

to  when  you  intend  to  start  him,  but  even  if  you  don't 
propose  to  do  so  until  he  is  seven  years  old,  to  secure 
the  best  results  you  will  find  that  worlv  at  an  early  age 
will  be  necessary.  As  previously  remarked,  the  colt 
ofrows  better  and  harder  under  the  athletic  trainino^  we 
have  recommended.  The  lungs  will  develop  with  the 
muscles,  and  even  the  legs  will  attain  a  harder,  cleaner 
substance.  I  believe  it  to  be  a  scientific  truth  that  the 
physical  development  of  animals  is  modified  by  the  use 
or  exercise  to  which  they  are  subjected  during  the 
period  of  growth.  The  boy  who  practices  writing 
early  has  the  advantage  over  a  man  who  starts  in  late 
in  life  in  more  than  the  purely  mental  ground.  The 
muscles  that  "push"  tlie  pen  grow  to  better  answer 
that  requirement  than  if  they  receive  no  ti*ainiug  until 
their  growth  is  done.  The  boy  who  aims  to  shine,  say, 
as  an  acrobat,  will  reach  a  higher  point  if  he  begins 
his  training  young,  for  the  physical  structure  will 
during  growtli  accommodate  itself  to  the  training, 
those  muscles  most  brought  into  play  increasing  in 
bulk  as  well  as  in  strength  and  tone,  until  the  ease  and 
deftness  of  the  physical  machine  in  a  certain  direction 
renders  that  order  of  exercise  ^'  a  mechanical  mode  of 
life,"  or  as  we  more  commonly  say  it,  second  nature. 
Therefore  it  seems  so  clear  to  me  that  intelligently 
directed  exercise,  such  as  moderate  training  on  the 
track,  is  superior  to  the  impulsive,  purposeless,  and 
often  violent  exercise  taken  by  a  loose  and  untrained 
colt,  that  I  cannot  but  wonder  that  there  are  those 
who  do  not  see  it.  Some  time  ago  Mr.  S.  A.  Browne, 
the  prominent  Michigan  breeder,  who  once  owned 
Bell     Boy,    expressed,  if     I     rememb^^    aright,    the 


232  TRAINING    THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 

opinion  tljat  when  the  record  of  Maud  S.  was  broken 
it  would  not  be  by  a  horse  that  beat  the  world's 
record  at  two  or  three  ^^ears  old.  T  cannot  agree  with 
Mr.  Browne  on  that  point;  buc,  even  if  his  opinion 
Avere  right,  it  would  not  be  a  point  against  earh^  train- 
ing, but  rather,  against  asking  a  great  effort  of  an  im- 
mature horse.  If  I  owned  a  yearling  that  I  knew  had 
in  him  the  making  of  a  world-beater,  and  if  I  did  not 
want  to  trot  him  in  public  until  he  was  fully  matured, 
I  would  work  him  from  his  yearling  form  up,  and 
would  feel  sure  that  he  would  ultimateh^  be  a  greater 
horse  than  if  he  was  allowed  to  grow  up  loose  and  un- 
educated until  four  or  five  3^ears  of  age.  Another  fact 
is  that  horses  in  trainino^  are  more  carefully  watched 
as  regards  health,  and  are  generally  under  better  hy- 
gienic conditions  than  those  that  grow  up  rough  and 
untutored.  Then  again,  with  the  latter,  their  tempers 
may  develop  in  the  wrong  direction ;  the}^  are  not  used 
to  control,  and  they  resent  it,  becoming  so  strong- 
headed  that  they  ma}^  be  phj^sically  as  well  as  men- 
tally ruined  in  breaking.  A  case  in  point :  After 
Capt.  Smith  had  gone  a  mile  for  me  in  2:21  at  four 
years  old  and  the  gelding  Clay  had  shown  great  speed, 
I  began  to  try  to  Avork  a  mare  we  had  out  of  the  same 
dam — Maid  of  Clay.  At  four  years  old  this  mare  was 
unbroken,  and  we  had  to  lariat  her  to  catch  her.  She 
would  kick,  bite  and  fight  whenever  we  tried  to  do 
anything  with  her ;  but  after  long  and  patient  work  I 
got  her  to  drive  double  and  single  prett}^  well,  and  she 
acted  like  a  trotter.  One  day  I  took  her  to  a  tem- 
porary blacksmith-shoj)  to  have  her  shod.  Between 
two  posts  there  was  fastened,  about  four  and  a  half 


TEACIJ    THEM    YCH'XG 


233 


feet  from  the  ground,  a  piece  of  scantling,  and  in  stn.o-. 
ghng  against  being  shod  she  got  beneath  that  bar  and 
raised  nght  up  under  it.   V^e  tried  to  get  the  scantling 
oif  and  could  not,  but  we  finally  succeeded  in  puUin" 
her  out.    She  promised  to  be  the  best  of  Maid  of  Clay's 
family,  but  from  that  day,  although  not  crippled,  she 
never  jvas  .-orth  a  dollar.     Her  heart  was  broken,  her 
spirit,  her  courage  and  ambition  all  gone.     She  would 
never  go  up  on  the  bit  again,  and  she  was,  in  short,  a 
subdued,  useless  and  spiritless  mare,  where,  had  she 
been  trained  young,  she  would  have  been  docile  and 
educated  without  the  loss  of  ambition  and  spirit     So 
my  fnend,  who  may  be  training  a  two-year-old,  don't 
magine,  because  you  are  not  going  to  rtart  him  this 
jeai,  that  you  are  doing  no  good  and  might  as  well 

comes  The  work  now  is  of  more  importance  than  at 
any  other  time,  for  you  are  laying  safe  and  sure  the 
founda  ion  for  the  future,  and  if  i^  is  being  well  done 

ZflrT  ''""'f  ^''■'^™^'»''«  «ork  you  were  "building 

bette   than  yon  knew."'    There  is  a  great  lesson  in  th'e 

Ime .     Learn  to  labor  and  to  wait." 

Beyond   the  instructions  already  given  I  need  say 

little  more  about  working  the  two-vear-old,  as  any 
average  horseman  will,  after  following  through  my 
remarks,  be  able  to  judge  of  how  much\-ork  to  o-ive 
and  when  to  ease  up  temporarily.  If  you  are  goin^c  to 
start  him  in  a  race-and  I  advise  von  not  to  sTart 
unless  you  feel  pretty  sure  that  you  have  the  speed  to 
wm-you  can  fit  him  for  the  race  much  on  the  nlm 
pursued  with  Sunol.    Do  not  give  him  too  ma^y  m'S 


234:  TRAINING    THE    TKCJTTING    HORSE. 

and  be  very  sparing  in  working  him  against  the  watch. 
Keep  him  in  hard  and  stout  condition,  and  don't  trot 
the  race  until  the  race  day.  Further  on  I  treat  of  pre- 
paring for  races,  and  management  in  races,  and  while 
much  remains  to  be  said  that  is  applicable  to  two-year- 
old  training,  the  order  of  our  work  will  cover  it  all  as 
we  proceed  further  on. 

The  first  jear  in  harness  will  have  a  great  effect  in 
many  ways,  and  little  mistakes  now  may  have  very 
momentous  consequences  hereafter,  and  in  no  way  can 
more  harm  be  done  than  by  a  little  indiscretion  with 
the  colt's  mouth.  All  you  have  to  do  is  to  check  him 
up  about  three  inches  too  far,  and  take  a  cast-iron  grip 
on  him  while  driving,  to  blight  all  his  prospects  in  short 
order.  You  want  to  teach  him  so  that  he  can  be 
driven  "  by  a  silken  thread  " — driven  with  a  light 
hand — and  you  will  generally  find  that  at  first  the  colt 
with  a  loose  check  and  with  the  lines  h'ing  almost 
loose  on  his  back,  will  swing  off  at  his  own  gait, 
whereas  if  you  put  weight  on  the  bit,  or  check  him  up 
tight,  he  will  be  fighting  it  all  the  while,  will  be  un- 
balanced in  his  gait,  and  be  in  no  temper  to  trot.  Let 
this  ill-treatment  be  continued  for  a  Avhile,  and  your 
colt  will  have  "  a  hard  mouth,"  and  will  learn  to  pull, 
and  to  "hog  on  the  bit."  Sun ol  would  have  been  a 
puller  under  any  but  the  most  careful  treatment. 
Whenever  she  showed  an  inclination  to  "  lug  "  I  would 
let  her  have  her  head,  talk  to  her,  and  have  her  go 
along  as  easily  as  possible,  without  being  hard  held, 
and  she  gradually  forgot  to  pull ;  but  had  I  fought  her 
with  the  bit  she  would  have  been  ruined.  A  well 
trained  colt  will  learn  to  rate  about  any  gait  you  set 


don't    "  BREAK    AXD    CATCH."  235 

him  a-going  at  with  a  lightly  held  rein.  It  is  very 
essential  to  have  him  do  this  to  train  him  to  obey  the 
voice,  and  jog  easily  without  being  held.  After  a 
horse  begins  to  go  fast,  of  course  a  little  firmer  grip  is 
necessary  to  hold  him  safe  and  steady  ;  but  at  all  times 
let  it  be  your  aim  to  put  as  little  extra  weight  on  the 
rein  as  possible.  Here  will  come  in  play  what  we  call 
"good  hands,"  about  which  there  is  an  indefinable 
something  that  cannot  be  imparted.  A  light,  yet  firm, 
an  elastic,  yet  steady,  hold  on  the  rein  is  what  is 
wanted ;  but  I  can  no  more  tell  you  how  to  do  it  than 
the  painter  can  tell  how  to  hold  the  brush  for  a  master- 
stroke. It  is  a  natural  gift  that  does  not  seem  capable 
of  being  acquired. 

Don't  waste,  or  worse  than  waste,  time  in  teaching 
the  colt  to  "  break  and  catch."  That  is  an  idea  that 
some  men  think  the  most  important  in  training,  but  it 
is  a  pernicious  one.  You  are  teaching  him  to  trot,  not 
to  "  go  as  you  please,"  and  the  great  point  is  not  to 
teach  him  to  "  break  and  catch''  but  to  teach  him  not 
to  break  at  all.  If  he  does  break,  do  not  jerk  him  vio- 
lentl}^,  "  snatch  "  him,  or  see-saw  on  one  side  and  then 
the  other.  We  have  all  seen  horses  that  leave  their 
feet,  throw  up  their  heads  and  let  go  of  the  bit  alto- 
gether. This  is  the  result  of  jerking  his  head.  He 
throws  up  his  head  to  get  away  from  the  bit ;  he  fears 
it,  and  hence  cannot  get  into  his  balance  and  stride 
again.  My  plan  is  to  give  him  a  square  pull  back, 
and  swing  him  very  slightly  to  one  side,  giving  him 
a  chance  to  catch  in  the  cross  stride. 

A  few^  colts,  even  at  this  early  age,  are  so  dull  and 
sluggish  that  a  whip  is  often  necessary  to  infuse  ambi- 


236  TRAINING    THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 

tion  into  them  ;  but,  while  I  always  carry  a  whip,  it  is 
more  for  ornament  than  use  with  youngsters.  With  a 
nervous,  highly-organized  colt  it  is  seldom  necessary^ 
and  its  abuse  is  absolutely  ruinous  in  results.  How 
often  you  see  a  man  apply  the  whip  to  a  young  colt 
when  he  breaks,  yet  that  is  something  that  a  boy  of 
ten  years  old  should  have  too  much  sense  to  be  guilty 
of.  To  frighten  an4  punish  the  colt  at  the  ver}^  time 
when  he  requires  to  be  steadied  and  reassured,  is  cer- 
tainly not  a  sensible  thing  to  do,  and  a  man  who 
will  do  it  is  not  fit  to  get  into  a  sulky,  especially 
behind  a  well-organized  youngster  of  fine  fiber. 

All  these  faults  combined,  or  any  one  of  them,  may 
cause  pulling,  side-pulling,  or  other  ^^ces  of  the  head 
and  mouth,  with  the  numerous  train  of  indirect  results, 
such  as  spoiling  the  temper  and  the  gait,  causing  the 
horse  to  become  unsteady,  hitching,  etc.  Pulling  is  a 
vice  much  to  be  dreaded,  being  generally  incurable^ 
and  anything  likely  to  encourage  it  should  be  carefully 
shunned.  Care  of  the  mouth  is  an  important  thing  at 
this  stage.  See  that  the  mouth  is  not  sore,  that  the 
bit  is  not  hurting  it — never  use  severe  bits — and 
endeavor  to  keep  it  in  the  naturally  sensitive  and  easy 
state. 

Side-puUing  is  a  very  disagreeable  habit,  and  the 
cause  can  generally  be  found  in  the  mouth.  It  may  be 
caused  by  wolf-teeth  (and  the  smaller  the  more  painful 
they  are),  or  before  the  colt  has  a  full  mouth,  the  gums 
may  be  swollen  on  one  side  of  the  lower  jaw,  between 
the  molars  and  the  incisors ;  or  the  sharp  edges  of  the 
grinders  may  come  in  contact  with  his  cheeks, 
especially  if  he  is  jerked ;  or  the  bit  may  be  too  long 


SIDE-PULLIXG.  237 

and  need  washers  to  keep  it  from  pullino-  through  the 
mouth.  There  are  various  causes  for  side-pullincr. 
which  sometimes  require  care  and  much  experience  to 
locate.  If  you  are  not  familiar  with  mouths,  consult 
some  one  who  is,  and  when  the  cause  is  found  the 
remed}^  will  be  easily  applied.  In  ordinary  cases  I 
have  generally  found  wrapping  the  bit  on  one  side 
with  chamois  skin  to  be  effectual 


238  TRAINING  THE  TROTTING  HORSE. 


CHAPTER   XXI. 

CLIMATIC    CONDITIONS THE    TRACK-WORK    OF    THE    THREE- 
YEAR-OLD THE   SPEED-MAKING   BRUSHES — SPEED  WINS 

RACES MANZANITA  AND  PATRON BRUSH  AT  DIFFER- 
ENT   PLACES    ON   THE   TRACK STOPPING  AT    SPOTS  AND 

ITS     REMEDY AlVIOUNT    OF    WORK     GIVEN WORKING 

TWICE   A   DAY    WHEN    NECESSARY ANOTHER    CAUTION 

AGAINST    OVERDOING     IT A    TIRED     HORSE     RIPE     FOR 

BREAK-DOWN THE    ERROR    OF    PERSISTENTLY    DRIVING 

FAST  MILES WORKING  MATURE  HORSES WORK  DIF- 
FERS ONLY  IN  DEGREE — EXCESSIVE  REDUCTION CON- 
DITION  PECULIARITIES    TO    BE    STUDIED. 

The  training  of  your  colt  will  necessarily  be  affected 
by  the  climate  in  which  you  live.  Our  best  time  for 
work  in  California  is  in  the  fall  and  the  winter-spring, 
barring  the  rainy  season.  Our  summers  are  so  diy — 
the  grass  burned  up  and  the  tracks  hard — that  it  is  a 
rather  trying  time  on  horses.  The  blood  of  a  horse  in 
training  (eating  as  he  does  mainly  food  that  is  of  a 
rather  heating  nature),  as  well  as  his  legs  and  feet,  is 
harder  to  keep  just  right  in  a  dry  summer  than  in  the 
seasons  when  a  feed  of  grass  will  regulate  and  cool  the 
stomach,  and  a  walk  in  the  dew  will  cool  the  legs  and 
feet. 

In  the  East,  and  especially  in  the  North,  it  is  some- 
times difficult  to  frive  a  horse  sufficient  exercise  in  win- 


SPEED-MAKING    BRUSHES.  239 

ter,  and  all  I  need  say  on  this  point  is:  Take  the  best 
advantage  you  can  of  your  climate.  If  you  have  long 
stretches  in  the  year  when  you  cannot  drive  for  speed, 
you  can  at  least,  almost  every  day,  exercise  the  horse, 
whether  it  be  over  a  snow-path  or  over  winter  roads. 
Aim  to  keep  the  horse  in  as  near  the  good,  hard  condi- 
tion he  would  be  in  if  work  on  the  track  were  possible, 
as  you  can,  and  he  will  at  least  be  well  prepared  for 
track-work  when  the  season  comes  for  speeding. 

The    work  of   the   three-year-old  will   be   in   great 

measure  a  repetition  of  that  given  the  two-year-old, 

though  he  will  now  be  given  a  little  more  of  it,  the 

main  object  being  to  keep  him  speedy.     The  brushes 

should  not  be  very  much  lengthened,  but  he  should  go 

at  a  higher  rate  of  course,  though  in  your  anxiety  to 

have  him  do  this  do  not  "drive  him  over  himself,"  as 

we  say  in  stable  parlance,  or  force  him  off  his  gait.     I 

know  if  you  are  schooled  in   the  ordmary  ideas  of 

training  you  will  be  impatient  with  my  methods.     He 

shows  great  speed  for  you  at  a    )rush,  and  you  are 

anxious  to  drive  him  miles.     You  will  not  be  likely  to 

dispute  the  fact  that  the  brush  system— going  a  short 

distance  at  a  high  rate,  rather  than  a  long  distance  at 

a  slow  rate— develops  muscle,  lung  power,  speed  and 

hardiness  of  the  legs  quickly ;  but,  all  the  same,  you 

Avant  to  go  miles  against  the  watch  for  the  satisfaction 

of  seeing  what  he  can  do.     This  is  a  tendency  to  be 

guarded  against.     There  are  miles  enough  ahead  to  be 

trotted  and  time  enough  to  trot  them  in.     You  can  go 

a  mile  at  a  certain  rate,  but  you  must  go  a  fast  quarter 

before  you  can  go  a  fast  mile.     So  first  concentrate  all 

vour  attention  on  getting  the  high  speeding  capacity 


240  TRAINING    THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 

developed ;  after  you  can  go  fast  for  a  quarter  the  fast 
mile  will  come  all  right.  Speed  makes  gameness.  The 
horse  that  goes  within  his  limit  will  always  outlast  the 
horse  that  is  on  his  tip-toes  from  wire  to  Avire.  The 
case  of  Manzanita  and  Patron  at  St.  Louis  in  1886  is  in 
point.  She  could  trot  a  quarter  that  day,  beyond 
doubt,  better  than  thirty-two  seconds — she  could  cer- 
tainly have  gone  to  the  half  close  to  1:05.  Going  to 
the  half  in  1:08  so  distressed  Patron  that  he  was  a 
quickly  beaten  horse.  He  could  not  live  with  her  that 
day  any  distance  from  "a  panel  of  fence"  to  five  miles, 
simply  because  she  could  trot  him  to  a  standstill  with- 
out being  all  strung  out,  and  each  heat  in  the  race  was 
easy  work  for  her,  while  he  was  driven  out  to  the  last 
inch. 

It  is  not  well  to  brush  the  horse  always  over  the 
same  ground,  for  he  will  then  learn  to  stop  at  certain 
places  on  the  track.  Colts  are  quick  of  perception  and 
retentive  in  memory,  and  when  they  find  out  they 
always  start  at  one  place  and  stop  at  one  place  they 
are  apt  to  do  it  of  themselves.  In  such  cases  the 
remedy  is  eas}^  When  you  find  a  colt  getting  into  the 
habit  of  wanting  to  stop,  or  slacken  speed  at  a  certain 
place,  make  it  a  point  to  send  him  past  that  point  at  a 
lively  gait.  You  can  easily  do  this  by  shifting  your 
brushing  ground — sometimes  working  on  one  side  of  the 
track,  sometimes  on  another,  and  occasionally  giving 
him  a  breather  around  tlie  turn  and  through  the 
stretch.  Another  annoying  little  habit  a  colt  is  apt  to 
get  into  is  to  try  to  turn  out  every  time  he  passes  the 
gate  leading  off  the  track.  The  same  principle  will 
cure  him  of  this.     When  speeding  never  pull  up  just 


AMOUNT    OF    WORK.  241 

at  that  point.  Brush  past  it,  down  or  up  the  stretch, 
then  turn  and  walk  or  jog  back.  A  little  tact,  in  this 
respect,  will  break  your  colt  of  all  inclination  to  stop 
or  swerve  while  speedino^,  as  he  will  know  of  no  par- 
ticular place  where  he  is  habitually  stopped. 

You  began  with  the  yearling  going  first  about  a 
furlong,  and  working  him  that  distance  four  or  five 
times.  Gradually  you  increased  it,  until  in  two  or 
three  months  you  would  give  him  six  or  seven  brushes, 
of  about  300  yards,  going  sharp  at  some  point  in  each. 
Then,  as  he  grew  stronger,  larger,  stouter,  and  showed 
more  speed,  you  increased  the  work  a  little  more, 
giving  the  two-year-old  about  three-eighth  brushes ;  and 
now  in  his  three-year-old  form,  all  being  well,  you  can 
work  him  at  from  three-eightlis  to  one-fourth  mile 
brushes,  never,  however,  fully  stringing  him  out  for  a 
whole  quarter,  but  sending  him  at  high  pitch  for  part 
of  the  distance.  Occasionally  he  can  be  moved  well 
within  himself  for  a  half-mile.  When  you  want  to  do 
this,  after  you  have  given  him  nearly  enough — and 
this,  of  course,  varies  with  different  horses — turn  him 
and  make  the  last  brush  about  a  half-mile,  doino^  the 
most  of  the  distance  well  within  himself,  and  going 
the  last  furlong  pretty  nearly  as  fast  as  he  can.  You 
will  soon  learn  to  judge  when  a  horse  has  sufiicient 
work.  The}^  show  it  by  "  acting  tired,"  and  losing  the 
eagerness  to  go  which  you  will  notice  when  you  first 
bring  him  out.  At  the  first  sign  of  this,  go  to  the 
barn. 

The  three-year-old  w^ants  very  little  jogging.  Its 
only  purpose  is  to  have  him  empty  his  stomach,  warm 
him,  and  generally  "  loosen  him  uj)."     Although  many 


242  TRAINING   THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 

trainers  seem  to  think  differently,  there  is  no  develop- 
ment in  jogging.  Its  only  object  is  to  get  the  horse 
ready  to  trot — a  sort  of  preliminary  exercise  to  gradu- 
ally warm  up  the  blood,  nnlimber  the  joints,  and  get 
the  whole  organization  pitched  to  the  point  of  action. 

I  have  said  once  or  twice  already  that  a  young  horse 
can  be  worked  twice  a  day  to  advantage  if  it  is  neces- 
sary to  start  him  young,  or  give  him  an  early  prepara- 
tion. A  youngster  will  tire  slightly,  lay  down  and 
rest,  and  be  in  a  few  hours  refreshed,  where  an  old 
horse  will  not  rest  thoroughly  until  night.  So,  until  a 
colt  is  two  years  old  you  can  work  him  twice  a  day,  if 
necessary,  with  good  results.  The  oftener  he  gets  his 
work  the  quicker  he  will  learn.  Two  short  lessons  are 
better  than  one  long  one.  This  semi-daily  work  may 
likewise  be  given  older  horses  until  they  can  trot  fast 
enough  to  make  work  severe.  You  will  ap])reciate  the 
fact  that  the  faster  a  horse  goes  the  more  work  he  will 
take  in  a  certain  time.  So  when  your  horse  increases 
to  a  high  rate  of  speed  you  will  not  keep  him  on  the 
track  so  long  as  when  he  works  slower.  For  instance, 
if  your  three-year-old  can  trot  quarters  in  thirty-five  or 
thirt3^-six  seconds,  you  take  him  out,  warm  him,  and 
when  ready  you  give  him  five  or  six  brushes  fast, 
finishing  each  brush  strong.  If  you  will  calculate  a 
moment  you  will  see  that  you  have  given  him  really 
more  work  and  faster  work,  than  if  you  had  worked 
him  a  mile,  and  repeat,  and  he  has  been  taught  to  go 
at  a  higher  rate. 

The  trouble  you  will  find  it  very  hard  to  fight 
against  will  be,  let  me  say  again,  the  tendency  to  give 
the  colt  too  much.     You  will  fike  to  see  him  go  another 


don't  give  the  colt  too  MLXH.  24:^ 

brush  and  when  he  is  going  fast  and  true,  you  will  hate 
to  stop  him.  So  the  virtue  of  patience  will  often  need 
to  come  into  play.  Development  ceases,  you  must  re- 
member, when  you  get  out  the  last  link.  The  brush 
should  never  extend  beyond  the  point  where  you  do 
not  believe  he  can  improve  with  the  next  step.  When 
a  horse  tires  he,  in  a  great  measure,  loses  control  of  his 
legs  and  feet,  and  if  weighted  the  trouble  is  aggra- 
vated. He  breaks,  he  falters  in  his  gait,  strikes  him- 
self, goes  to  hitching,  hobbling — anything  to  rest 
himself — and  as  a  natural  consequence  of  this  work 
goes  back  in  speed,  and  loses  precision  in  his  action. 
And,  moreover,  a  thoroughly  tired  horse  is  ripe  for  a 
break-down.  We  will  suppose  tluit  you  believe  that  if 
driven  out,  your  horse  can  trot  a  mile  in  2:20,  and  to 
satisfy  yourself  you  start  to  do  it.  You  feel  him  tiring 
at  the  seventh-eighth  pole,  but  you  want  to  finish  that 
mile,  and  so  hustle  him  along.  In  that  last  eighth  the 
strain  on  his  muscles  tells,  they  begin  to  relax,  the 
stroke  is  not  so  bold,  true  and  far,  and  every  sinew  and 
cord  is  strained  to  its  utmost,  and  yet  he  is  asked  to 
do  more.  He  is  not  trotting  now  on  his  own  courage, 
naturally  and  with  marked,  precise  stroke,  but  is 
strivino:  on  mechanicallv,  and  is  in  the  most  favorable 
condition  for  a  break-down.  Did  you  ever  notice 
how  often  race-horses  break  down  in  the  home-stretch  ? 
It  is  the  last  straw — the  call  upon  a  weary  horse  to 
respond — that  tests  most  severely  tendon  and  carti- 
lage. So  I  very  strongly  desire  to  impress  upon  you 
the  importance  of  always  working  miles  and  half- 
miles — when  you  work  that  distance  at  all— ^well 
within  the  colt's  limits.    In  treating  of  preparation  for 


2tl:Tt  TRAINIXG    THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 

races  I  will  be  more  specific  on  this,  but  here,  again, 
wish  to  put  the  trainer  on  guard.  I  have  driven  a 
three-year-old,  in  a  race  in  2:22,  that  never  trotted  a 
mile  in  2:30  before.  If  you  have  the  speed,  and  the 
colt  is  in  good  condition,  he  will  trot  you  a  good  mile 
when  asked,  if  driven  and  rated  Avith  fair  judgment. 
Do  not  exhaust  the  youngster  in  moonlight  trials — 
save  the  energy  you  would  thus  expend  until  race-day. 
You  may  want  it.  I  consider  there  is  no  error  more 
common  and  more  grievous  than  the  belief  that  the 
way  to  condition  a  horse  for  a  race  is  to  drive 
him  and  repeat  him  day  after  day  right  up  close 
to  his  limit.  You  will  find  tliat  wlien  you  begin  to 
work  the  colt  miles,  preparatory  to  a  race,  he  will  lose 
some  of  his  speed,  even  with  the  most  careful  working. 
AVith  the  fast  mile-and-repeat  business,  as  usually  car- 
ried out,  he  cannot  but  lose  his  speed  to  a  great  degree. 
On  race-day  you  want  all  the  speed  you  can  command, 
and  you  can  have  that  and  have  the  ability  to  go  fast 
miles  too  b}^  working  on  the  moderate  plan  outlined  in 
the  chapters  on  Sunol,  and  on  preparation  for  races  in 
this  book. 

Though  my  object  in  w^riting  this  book  is  chiefi}^  to 
deal  with  the  training  of  young  horses,  that  training 
differs  only  in  degree  from  the  manner  in  which,  in 
my  estimation,  older  horses  should  be  worked.  Sup- 
pose a  man  brings  you  a  five-year-old  horse  to  work  for 
speed — a  regular  green  one — soft  and  out  of  shape. 
You  cannot  start  him  up  right  away,  but  after 
getting  his  feet  in  shape,  shod  and  "  hung "  right, 
you  need  not  waste  all  summer  in  slow  jogging  before 
you  do  anything.      Horses   differ  so  in  temperament 


AVORKIXG    OFF    FLESH.  245 

that  it  takes  some  time  to  know  each  one.  Some  are 
hearty  eaters  with  appetites  that  nothing  will  affect^ 
and  these  of  course  take  more  woi'k  than  the  more 
delicate  kind.  I  do  not  believe  in  getting  flesh  off  a 
horse  with  sweat-blankets  and  hoods.  Work  it  off  in 
the  natural  vrsiV.  After  you  have  got  your  horse  into 
pretty  good  driving  shape,  with  a  fair  share  of  flesh  of 
the  hard  variety,  he  should  be  given  as  great  a  proj^or 
tion  of  his  work  in  fast  brushes  as  possible.  After  3^ou 
have  driven  him  until  he  is  shaped  up  to  take  fast  work 
without  distress,  you  have  got  to  a  point  beyond  which 
I  can  give  little  more  instruction  than  I  have  already 
given.  The  principle  of  the  work  for  colts  and  mature 
horses  is  the  same  essentially.  It  differs  only  in  degree. 
To  prepare  a  green  horse  for  work  needs  only  a  little 
average  horse-sense — plenty  of  exercise,  careful  groom- 
ing and  judicious  feeding.  Some  men  act  on  the  prin- 
ciple that  a  horse  must  be  as  poor  as  a  scare-crow 
before  he  is  in  condition,  and  some  will  even  resort  to 
physic  to  get  flesh  off.  That  is  an  erroneous  idea,  and 
the  use  of  physic  is  simply  unpardonable  as  long  as  a 
horse  is  well.  It  weakens  and  reduces  a  horse,  which 
you  do  not  want  to  do.  The  object  is  to  keep  him 
strong,  but  to  work  off  superfluous  flesh  to  get  him  in 
as  nearly  perfect  healthy  athletic  condition  as  possible. 
Strength,  vigor  and  energy  do  not  stay  by  many  horses 
whose  ribs  can  be  counted  far  off.  After  a  horse  a}> 
proaches  maturity'  he  lays  on  internal  fat,  as  all  animals 
do,  and  in  that  condition  strong,  fast  exercise  distresses 
him,  his  wind  being  "thick"  and  "short."  All  race- 
horse men  will  tell  vou  that  some  horses  "run  bis:" 
and  others  "run  fine" — that  is,  that  some  are  at  their 


2:1:6  TKAIXIXG    THE    TROTTING    HOKSE. 

best  when  rather  stouter  than  what  on  the  average  is 
regarded  as  perfect  condition,  while  others  show  the 
highest  form  when  trained  pretty  "fine" — but  the  lat- 
ter are  in  the  minority.  That  some  horses  are  at  their 
best  when  very  fine  is  true  beyond  question;  but  I 
know  that  in  the  great  majority  of  cases  a  horse,  to  be 
in  the  pink  of  condition,  must  carry  a  quite  fair  degree 
of  flesh — a  good  smooth  coating  over  the  ribs,  not  feel- 
ing gross  and  thick  to  the  hand,  but  amply  covering 
the  bones.  The  hair  should  be  soft  and  glossy,  the 
coat  smooth  and  velvety  to  the  touch,  never  harsh  and 
dried  up,  and  the  horse  should  perspire  freely  a  clear 
sweat.  But  to  describe  condition  is  like  trying  to  tell 
a  man  how  to  drive.  You  cannot  do  it.  You  can  help, 
but  his  own  intuition  must  be  his  greatest  teacher  in 
almost  ever}^  point  of  the  trainer's  art.  There  is  an 
old  Spanish  proverb  which  I  have  seen  lately  quoted 
with  an  apt  application :  "  It  is  the  eye  of  the  master 
that  fattens  the  horse."  It  is  the  eye  of  the  trainer 
that  makes  him  "  fit." 

The  study  of  the  peculiarities  of  your  pupils,  to 
which  I  referred,  in  passing  a  moment  ago,  is  a  most 
important  part  of  the  trainer's  business.  As  the  writer 
from  whom  I  have  just  quoted  very  properly  sa^^s : 
"  Horses,  like  men,  have  idiosyncrasies  of  mind  and 
body ;  like  men,  they  require  humoring,  and  cannot 
safel}^  be  treated  as  machines  (which  is  too  often  done), 
and  what  is  termed  tact  must  be  exercised  with  both. 
The  progress  of  training  must  be  gradual  and  pro- 
gressive— never  standing  still.  Inaction  means  deteri- 
oration." When  a  trainer  and  a  horse  get  at  cross- 
purposes  with  each  other  they  had  better  part  com- 


CARE    AXD    KEEPING.  2-17 

pany.  Xeither  one  can  do  himself  justice  while  he 
is  fiofhtino^  the  other,  and  the  divided  house  will  come 
to  orief.  Work  to  be  of  anv  benefit  will  be  taken  in 
good  temper  on  both  sides.  So  the  ideal  trainer  must 
not  only  have  the  faculties  of  observation,  and  the 
penetrativeness  to  discover  the  horse's  peculiarities  of 
nature,  but  he  must  have  the  elastic  tact  to  accom- 
modate himself  to  them. 

I  have  now  explained,  at  some  length,  the  principles 
of  our  educational  track  work,  and  have  indicated  how 
a  colt  may  be  trained  from  infancy  until  he  is  a  horse 
ready  for  the  finislnng  touches  in  preparation  for  the 
fray.  It  would  be  very  pleasant  for  the  writer  and 
the  reader  if  a  book  could  be  written  that,  like  a 
cookery  recipe,  tells  you  all  at  once  how  to  do  every 
thing  so  that  you  can  begin  work  when  you  begin 
reading,  and  do  the  job  according  to  directions  as  you 
read  on.  But  there  are  so  man}^  things  that  have  to 
be  done  in  their  order  every  day,  in  horse  training, 
that  all  the  strings  cannot  be  threaded  at  once.  So, 
before  we  take  up  the  preparation  of  the  colt  for  races, 
and  his  management  in  them,  we  will  leave  the  track 
and  go  to  the  barn,  where  it  will  be  in  order  to  give 
some  attention  to  his  care  and  keeping. 


2iS  TKAINING  THE  TROTTING  HOESE. 


CHAPTEE   XXII. 

STABLES     AND     STABLING PALATIAL     STABLES    NOT   NECES- 
SARY—THE  PRIME    ESSENTIALS    CLEANLINESS,    AIR   AND 

LIGHT LARGE     AND      SMALL      BARNS ADVANTAGES 

OF    THE     LATTER ROOMY     BOXES FLOORING CLAY 

FLOORS BEDDING FEEDING CRACKED    AND    GROUND 

FOOD  —  BRAN IMPORTANCE     OF     GOOD     QUALITY     OF 

FOOD — WATER CALIFORNIA    CLIMATE    AND    GRASSES. 

The  question  of  stabling  is  one  of  very  great  import- 
ance, but  it  is  erroneous  to  suppose  that  a  man  needs 
to  be  a  millionaire  to  properly  stable  his  horses.  Some 
of  the  farms  in  the  United  States  have  stables  that  are 
palaces,  where  liberality  is  seen  to  run  into  extrava- 
gance and  practical  comfort  is  forgotten  in  the  chase 
of  elegance.  But  as  a  general  rule,  for  the  purposes  of 
training,  I  would  not  exchange  the  single  story  "  shed 
stables  "  at  Palo  Alto  for  the  mammoth  barns  where 
the  light  falls  through  stained  glass  windows  upon 
polished  woods,  gilded  iron,  and  brass.  If  I  were  asked 
to  put  in  few  words  the  requirements  to  be  met  in 
stabling  I  would  say :  Have  ample  room,  scrupulous 
cleanliness,  fresh  air  and  abundant  light.  We  have 
one  great  barn  at  Palo  Alto — the  largest  and  most 
expensive  building  on  the  farm — where  three  or  four 
of  the  assistant  trainers  have  their  "strings,"  and  I 
can  say  that  the  proportion  of  horses  that  go  wrong  in 


LOCATION    OF    STABLES.  249 

that  barh  is  larger  than  in  our  long  "  shed "  stables, 
where  every  box  is  independent.  This  barn  is  built 
on  the  usual  plan — divided  by  two  wide  transverse 
aisles  crossing  each  other  in  the  center  of  the  building, 
the  boxes  opening  into  them.  The  boxes  are  boarded 
up  to  the  usual  height,  then  divided  by  open  work,  and 
the  space  and  shafts  above  are  ample  for  perfect 
ventilation.  But  from  the  very  nature  of  barns  of  this 
character  there  are  always  drafts,  and  you  cannot 
regulate  the  air  and  temperature  of  each  box.  In  the 
rows  of  single-story  stables,  where  each  box  is  a  com- 
plete section,  with  its  own  door  and  window,  you  can 
regulate  it  to  suit  each  horse  just  according  as  you 
wish  to  give  him  air,  or  protect  him  from  drafts  after 
work,  etc.  Then,  agam,  there  is  greater  safety,  as  each 
box  is  completely  divided  from  its  neighbors.  Disease 
is  not  so  apt  to  spread,  and  in  case  of  fire  you  have  a 
better  chance  to  save  horses.  I  would  for  many 
reasons  rather  have  two  or  more  small  detached  barns 
than  one  yevy  large  one. 

As  far  as  location  goes  I  would  only  say  :  Have  your 
stables  convenient  to  the  track,  and  on  high,  dry 
ground.  It  is  better  that  they  should  face  the  south. 
When,  as  in  so  great  a  proportion  of  our  stabling  at 
Palo  Alto,  the  boxes  have  independent  doors  opening 
to  the  outside  world,  it  will  be  more  pleasant  to  have  a 
southern  exposure,  expecially  in  lands  less  favored 
with  sunny  weather  than  California.  We  have  half- 
doors,  and  it  will  please  you  to  notice,  how  on  a  fine 
afternoon,  the  horse  likes  to  stand  b}^  his  door,  and 
with  his  head  and  neck  protruding  rejoice  in  the  pure, 
sweet  air,  and  watch  all  that  is  going  on.     Have  a 


250  TRAINING  thp:  trotting  horse. 

veranda  of  liberal  width  to  shade  the  box-door  from 
the  scorching  heat  of  a  summer  sun,  and  to  protect  it 
from  the  rain. 

As  to  ventilation  and  light,  have  it  in  purity  and 
abundance.  Foul  air,  as  you  know,  rises,  so  that  you 
will  provide  for  its  escape  near  the  top  of  the  box, 
either  by  an  air  shaft,  or  by  ventilators;  and  the 
windows  should  be  set  pretty  high,  so  that  the  air  will 
not  necessarily  blow  on  the  horses'  body.  A  window 
swinging  open  from  the  top  will  well  serve  this  pur- 
pose. There  is  nothing  worse  than  a  dark  stable. 
Air,  light,  and  cleanliness  are  absolutelv  essential  to 
keep  a  horse  in  good  health.  They  are  cheap  com- 
modities and  you  can  have  them  in  plenty. 

I  like  large,  roomy  boxes.  A  good  size  is  ISxli^  but 
14x16  is  better.  It  admits  of  free  and  natural  move- 
ment ;  the  horse  does  not  feel  pent-up  and  imprisoned, 
and  it  is  certainly  more  conducive  to  health  than 
smaller  quarters. 

As  to  what  is  the  most  desirable  flooring  is  a  much 
discussed  question.  An  absolutely  perfect  plan  for 
flooring  and  littering  has  yet  to  be  devised.  In  a  floor 
we  seek  durability,  with  economy,  cleanliness,  and  sub- 
stance healthful  for  the  feet.  For  the  perfect  bedding 
we  should  have  something  soft  and  elastic,  cleanly,  and 
non-eatable.  The  advocates  of  peat-moss  claim  these 
virtues  for  it,  bnt,  as  I  have  not  had  experience  with 
it,  I  cannot  speak  with  confidence  concerning  it.  Some 
writers  advocate  cemented  floors  of  bricks,  tiles,  or 
even  stone,  but  I  would  not  think  of  having  a  horse 
stand  on  such  a  hard  floor.  Imagine  a  horse  brought 
in  after  a  race,  his  feet  tired  and  hot,  compelled  to 


CLEAXLIXESS.  251 

stand  on  bricks  on  flagstones.  Many  favor  boarded 
floors,  and  much  can  be  said  in  their  favor  on  the  score 
of  cleanliness.  If  you  lay  such  a  floor  have  a  little 
slope  in  it  to  carry  the  liquid  excrement  down  to  the 
draining  gutter,  but  the  slope  must  be  very  slight 
indeed,  so  that  the  departure  from  the  true  level  will 
not  be  perceptible  to  the  horse.  I  have  had  experience 
with  several  kinds  of  flooring,  and  I  am  free  to  say  I 
like  a  ground  floor  best.  Some  object  that  the  earthen 
floor  gets  saturated  with  excretions,  and  it  is  difficult 
to  keep  clean.  I  have  not  found  it  so.  I  use  lime 
liberalh^— sometimes  chloride  of  limCo  With  careful 
and  regular  cleaning,  and  liming,  the  box  can  be  kept 
perfectly  clean  and  the  air  free  from  the  health  destroy- 
ing ammonia  that  pervades  wet  and  imperfectly 
cleaned  and  ventilated  stables.  For  bedding  I  like  rye- 
straw,  and  plenty  of  it.  As  to  the  details  of  stabling 
I  need  not  speak,  as  every  man  "  must  cut  the  garment 
according  to  the  cloth,"  and  arrange  his  plans  accord- 
ing to  the  size  of  his  stable  and  the  demands  upon 
it.  Every  good  horseman  is  orderly.  He  has  "  a  place 
for  everything  and  everything  in  its  place,"  and  the 
harness-room  of  a  well-ordered  stable  should  be  kept 
as  neat  looking  as  a  city  harness-shop. 

With  all  that  has  been  written  on  feeding,  the  public 
ouD^ht  to  know  it  all,  but  still  the  writers  write.  After 
all  we  have  not  got  beyond  the  simple  facts  that  the 
horse's  natural  food  is  grass,  hay  and  oats ;  that  he 
should  be  fed  and  watered  regularlv  with  healthv  solid 
and  fluid,  and  that  the  object  to  be  kept  in  view  m 
feeding  is  to  strengthen  and  nourish  the  body  and  keep 
it  healthy.  Tiiese  are  the  elementary  principles 
involved  in  all  discussions  on  feeding. 


252  TRAINING  THE  TROTTING  HORSE. 

I  have  already  spoken  of  feeding  youngsters,  and 
have  expressed  the  behef  that  they  cannot  be  too 
hberally  fed  in  their  first  two  years  of  fife,  especially 
if  being  worked.  I  have  had  very  satisfactory  results- 
with  colts  by  feeding  ground  oats  and  steamed  ground 
oats  and  barley.  But  both  with  colts  and  horses  good 
grass  and  hay  is  essential  to  perfect  health. 

I  have  said  to  give  the  colts  all  they  can  eat  up 
clean,  but  it  is  not  so  easy  to  fix  the  quantity  with 
horses.  Horses  differ  in  the  amount  of  food  they  do- 
best  with,  just  as  they  differ  in  the  amount  of  work 
the}^  require.  No  absolute  rule  can  be  laid  down.  One- 
horse  may  keep  right  almost  on  hay  alone,  while  an- 
other will  require  ten  or  twelve  quarts  of  oats  a  day  in 
addition  to  keep  him  right.  The  only  rule  I  can  formu- 
late is  to  give  the  horse  in  training  all  that  is  necessary 
to  keep  him  stout  and  strong.  A  horse,  to  be  in  proper 
track  condition,  will  carry  a  certain  fair  amount  of 
flesh,  and  if  you  reduce  him  below  that  he  will  become 
weakened. 

I  am  aware  that  some  horsemen  do  not  believe  in 
feeding  cracked  or  ground  food,  but  my  experience- 
convinces  me  that  a  limited  proportion  of  it  is  bene- 
ficial in  all  cases  and  quite  essential  in  some.  Horses- 
that  are  inclined  to  bolt  their  oats  and  horses  in  whose- 
dung  is  observed  whole  grains  will,  for  obvious  reasons, 
get  more  nourishment  from  broken  than  from  Avhole 
grain.  Unmasticated  food  can  afford  little  nourish- 
ment, and  when  a  horse  will  bolt  his  oats  witliout 
masticating  it  he  shoidd  be  given  it  in  the  broken 
form. 

A  word  as  to  bran.     I  once  gave  it  up  altogether^ 


GOOD    FOOD    ESSEXTIAL.  253 

and  substituted  boiled  oats,  with  a  little  oil-meal  in  it, 
for  horses  that  did  not  sweat  out  freely  and  scrape 
well.  However,  for  the  past  few  years  I  have  used 
considerable  bran  with  good  results.  Good,  clean 
bran,  well-scalded,  may  be  used  judiciously  to  great  ad^ 
vantage  w4iere  a  horse's  bowels  seem  to  need  a  little 
loosening. 

Quality  is  the  great  essential  in  food.  The  horse's 
stomach  is  small,  comparatively  speaking,  and  it  fol- 
lows that  he  will  not  thrive  on  food  the  nourishment 
in  which  is  a  small  percentage  in  ratio  to  the  bulk. 
All  food,  then,  should  be  clean  and  free  from  dust  and 
must,  as  well  as  being  good  in  itself,  of  whatever 
variety.  The  most  nutritive  food  for  horses  iu  train- 
ing, as  I  have  said,  are  oats,  hay  and  grass,  and  no 
other  is  ever  necessary  or  advisable  as  food.  Some- 
times, how-ever,  a  little  feed  of  parsnips  or  carrots  will 
tempt  a  horse  whose  appetite  is  not  on  edge  to  eat, 
and  they  have  a  coolmg  and*  regulating  effect  on  the 
■stomach. 

See  to  it  tlien  that  the  hay  and  oats  are  sound  and 
healthy,  and  of  the  best  quality  obtainable.  You 
•cannot  save  a  cent  by  buying  inferior  food  because  it 
is  cheap.  That  is  false  economy.  The  oats  should  be 
dry  and  sound,  the  grains  full  and  ])lump,  and  be  care- 
fully cleaned  before  fed.  Of  hay  there  are  legions  of 
varieties,  differing  with  climate,  but  every  novice  knows 
good,  clean,  sweet  hay  when  he  sees  it. 

The  importance  of  good  water  is  as  great  as  of  good 
food,  and  every  one  who  has  had  any  experience  in 
horse-keeping  w^ell  knows  that  a  change  in  water  is 
generally   resented   by  the  horse,   and,  therefore,  the 


254  TRAINING    THE    TKOTTING    HORSE. 

best  results  will  follow  the  use  of  not  only  pure  water, 
but  the  same  water  all  the  thne  if  possible.  I  have 
observed  tiiat  a  horse  does  best  with  his  home  water. 
He  acquires  a  taste  for  it,  and  is  quick  to  detect  the 
difference  of  the  water  he  is  offered  away  from  home. 
It  may  seem  the  same  to  the  trainer,  may  be  chemi- 
cally the  same,  but  the  horse  will  detect  a  difference. 
This  only  illustrates  one  of  the  thousand  little  influ- 
ences that  may  interfere  with  the  trainer's  work.  The 
water  should  be  of  average  temperature,  and  never 
given  when  ver^/  cold. 

Eeferring  to  the  quality  of  food,  and  the  influence  of 
climate,  a  little  digression  may  be  pardoned  in  order 
to  speak  of  our  California  advantages  .and  disadvan- 
tages in  training  and  keeping  horses. 

First  let  me  declare  briefly  that  the  climatic  advan- 
tages of  California  are  much  exaggerated  by  many. 
We  can  grow  colts  more  rajDidly  than  any  other  sec- 
tion, for  they  are  never  chilled,  never  feel  the  stunting 
influence  of  wintry  skies,  but  live  in  a  land  of  warmth 
and  sunshine.  The  usual  time  of  foaling  in  California 
is  about  the  most  favorable  of  the  year,  when  the 
grasses  are  at  their  best,  and  the  youngster  gets  a 
start  in  life  which  sends  him  right  along.  Neverthe- 
less, I  believe  I  can  go  to  Kentucky  and  have  better 
results  in  the  end,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  many  of  the 
Eastern  people  attribute  all  our  success  to  climate.  My 
horses  have  generally  been  better  in  the  East  in 
summer  than  at  home.  Our  winters  are  superb — 
barring  the  rainy  season — for  training,  but  the  draw- 
back comes  in  the  dry,  parching  summer,  when  the 
grass,  in  a  great  p^rt  of  the  State,  is  dried  up.     It  is 


CALIFORXIA    CLIMATE.  255 

then  difficult  to  keep  the  system  of  the  horse  in  train- 
ing riglit.  The  blood  becomes  heated,  and  the  whole 
organization  in  a  condition  in  which  so  slight  a  thing 
as  a  "  hit "  or  brush  ma}"  cause  a  break-down.  The 
feet  become  dried,  and,  though  some  theorists  believe 
that  a  horse's  feet  should  be  allowed  to  dry  up  and 
contract,  I  have  found  my  horses  go  lame  whenever 
they  w^ere  allowed  to  drift  into  that  condition.  I  have 
known  good  trainers  to  start  out  in  the  spring  in  Cali- 
fornia with  large  stables  of  horses  fit  and  well,  and 
have  them  all  go  wrong.  Our  tracks  are  hard  and 
flinty,  and  this,  in  addition  to  the  natural  and  obvious 
truth  that  when  the  system  is  feverish  and  disordered, 
it  is  unable  to  throw  off  even  slight  troubles,  accounts 
for  the  fact  that  a  larger  percentage  of  horses  "go 
wrong"  in  California,  in  smnmer,  than  anywhere  else. 
Our  greatest  advantage  here  is  that  we  can  work 
longer,  and  w^ork  at  any  season — but  for  that  very 
reason  many  horese  are  overworked.  I  have  no  desire 
to  underestimate  the  natural  advantages  of  this  beauti- 
ful State,  but  I  object  to  all  the  credit  for  what  we 
have  done — which  is  mainly  due  to  the  blood  we  have, 
and  our  methods  of  training — being  given  to  "  climate.'* 
"With  the  same  material  I  could  do  at  least  as  well 
in  the  East ;  and  if  I  owned  Electioneer  and  thirty 
or  forty  selected  mares,  and  wished  to  breed  and 
train  horses  to  break  all  records,  I  would  locate  in 
Kentucky  or  Tennessee  in  preference  to  California  for 
that  purpose. 

With  regard  to  our  grasses  we  have  no  advantage 
over  the  sections  I  have  named.  Alfalfa  I  have  not 
had  a  very  wide  experience  with,  and  such  as  I  have 


256  TRAINING   THE   TROTTING    HORSE. 

has  not  been  very  satisfactory.  It  does  very  well  for 
brood-mares  and  youngsters ;  but  it  is  a  washy  grass 
and  affects  the  kidneys  of  horses  in  training.  At  least 
such  has  been  my  experience.  Alfierilla,  commonly 
called  "filaree"  is  a  rank-growing  grass  that  horses 
are  very  fond  of,  and  that  I  consider  far  preferable  to 
alfalfa  for  turf  horses.  The  natural  wild-oat  of  Cali- 
fornia provides  excellent  forage,  and  the  animals  take 
much  to  burr-clover  after  it  is  ripe  and  dry.  The 
natural  herbs  of  California  afford  forage  of  the  richest 
and  most  nutritious  kind,  and  for  ordinary  horse  ranch- 
ing nocountrv  can  rival  it — but  for  breedino^  and  train- 
ing  horses  for  the  turf  I  am  somewhat  skeptical  as  to 
our  advantages  over  ''  the  blue-grass  region." 


PROGRAMME.  257 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

THE    DAILY    PROGRAMME  WITH  A    HORSE    IX   TRAINING — THE 

MORNING     MEAL     AND     EXERCISE  CARING     FOR     HIM 

AFTER  WORK RUBBING,  BLANKETING  AND  BANDAG- 
ING   TEMPERATURE  OF  STABLES CLOTHING MUZ- 
ZLES  HOODS  —  GOOD     MEN   FOR   RUBBERS BOOTS 

SOME  SPECIALLY  GOOD  PATTERNS  OF  BOOTS TOE- 
WEIGHTS SELDOM    NECESSARY    AND     MUCH    ABUSED 

THE   PERFECT   TROTTER   WILL   NOT    WEAR   THEM. 

Xow  LET  US  briefly  outline  the  daily  programme 
with  a  horse  that  is  taking  strong  work. 

I  make  it  a  rule  to  give  horses  in  work  three  meals 
a  day.  It  is  a  very  good  plan  to  keep  a  bucket  of 
water  in  the  box  over  night ;  ])ut  if  this  is  not  done, 
give  him  a  drink  the  first  thing  in  the  morning.  Then 
feed  him  two  or  three  quarts  of  oats,  according  to 
what  sort  of  a  feeder  he  is,  and  no  water  for  at  least 
two  hours  after  feeding.  By  this  time  the  sun,  we 
will  suppose,  has  got  well  up,  and  the  morning  is  clear 
and  bright.  After  he  has  eaten  his  breakfast,  he  is  to 
be  nicely  cleaned  off,  legs  rubbed,  feet  cleaned  out,  and 
if  possible  given  a  walk  in  the  dew.  Xow  we  will 
hitch  him  up,  and  give  him  a  gentle  jog  of  a  few  miles, 
after  which  we  bring  him  in,  unharness  him,  and  as  a 
rule  bandage  his  legs.  X'ow  he  is  walked  a  while, 
then  the  bandages  removed  and  his  legs  hand-rubbed. 


258  TRAINING    THE   TROTTING    HORSE. 


and  rebandao^ed  if  he  is  being  given  lots  of  work. 
After  he  is  well  rubbed  out,  his  feet  washed,  and  he  is 
w^alked  inahght  sheet  until  quite  dry,  he  is  "  done  up" 
for  the  morning.  It  is  not  well  to  keep  him  tied  up 
longer  than  is  necessary  for  it  is  irritating  and  annoy- 
ing to  the  horse,  and  gives  him  no  chance  to  rest.  I 
would  never  tie  up  a  colt,  except  when  he  is  being 
cleaned  or  harnessed.  It  is  harder  on  him  to  stand  for 
two  hours  with  his  head  tied  up  than  to  take  his  track 
w^ork,  and  the  incident  fretting  and  worrying  is 
injurious. 

After  a  reasonable  time  we  are  read\^  to  work  him, 
and  on  the  track  we  give  him  his  work  for  speed  in  the 
manner  described  at  other  places.  After  he  has  taken 
his  work  we  bring  him.  in,  give  him  a  few  '-swallows" 
of  water,  remove  the  harness,  throw  on  the  blanket 
and  then  take  off  his  boots.  The  next  thing  in  order 
is  to  scrape  him  off  lightly,  taking  no  more  time  than 
is  necessar3\  It  requires  care  and  judgment  here,  for 
while  you  must  not  let  a  draft  blow  on  him,  or 
allow  him  to  get  cold,  if  you  keep  him  too  warm  he 
will  scrape  a  second  time,  which  is  undesirable.  Clothes 
enough  to  prevent  taking  cold  is  all  that  is  required. 

I  have  noticed  horses  too  heavily  clothed  after  work 
seem  to  get  heated  through  and  through  show  dis- 
tress by  panting. 

After  the  scrape  a  body-w^ash  should  be  applied. 
The  following  I  have  found  very  good : 

Compound  soap  liniment 16  ounces. 

Liquid  ammonia 2  ounces. 

Tincture  cantharides 2  ounces. 

Tincture  opium 2  ounces. 


STABLE    CARE.  259 

Mix,  and  add  about  two  ounces  of  this  preparation 
to  one  |)int  of  water  and  one  pint  of  Pond's  Extract 
of  Witchhaze].  This  should  be  quickly  poured  and 
rubbed  over  the  loins  and  muscles  of  the  shoulders, 
after  which  the  legs  are  bandaged,  and  he  is  clothed 
in  a  blanket  and  usualh^  a  light  hood,  though  if  the 
weather  be  fine  and  warm  the  latter  is  not  necessary. 
Kow  walk  him  slowly  for  about  twenty  to  tweniv-five 
minutes,  letting  him  stop  occasionally  if  he  wants  to. 
When  he  is  nearly  dry  take  him  in  and  rub  him  out. 
Avoid  any  more  rubbing  than  is  necessary,  and  have  it 
h'ghtly  done.  Hard  rubbing  irritates  the  horse,  and  in 
high  training  condition  is  indeed  painful.  The  prac- 
tice of  throwing  heavy  clothing  over  the  loins  is  one  I 
cannot  api)rove  of.  AYith  a  sound  horse  it  is  needless, 
and  indeed  I  think  has  a  hurtful  tendency. 

As  above  directed,  the  legs  are  to  be  bandaged 
^\'henever  the  harness  and  boots  are  removed,  and 
the  lotion  applied.  To  put  on  a  bandage  right  is 
quite  a  nice  thing.  A  great  many  in  bandaging  the 
legs  leave  the  heels  or  under  part  of  the  ankles  ex- 
posed. Xow,  the  lower  part  of  the  ankle  needs  the 
support  furnished  by  the  bandage  just  as  much  as  the 
u])per  portion  of  the  joint  and  leg.  The  object  of  the 
bandage  is  to  "brace"  the  ankle  and  tendon  until  they 
are  thoroughly  rested  after  the  strain  of  fast  work. 
The  bandage  should  be  wrapped  well  down  around 
and  under  the  fetlock.  The  bandage  should  be  set 
moderately  tight  and  should  be  left  on  from  one  to 
two  hours. 

;N'ow  you  have  him  drv,  he  has  been  brushed  and 
cleaned  thoroughly,  and  is  ready  for  dinner.    Give  him 


260  TEAINIXG   THE   TROTTIXG    HOESE. 

a  moderate  drink  and  the  usual  two  or  three  quarts  of 
oats,  with  a  fair  feed  of  sweet,  good  hay,  and  let  him 
eat  and  digest  his  dinner  as  best  pleases  him. 

After  dinner  the  rubber  will  have  the  harness,  boots, 
sulky,  etc.,  to  attend  to,  and  a  good  boy  will  take  pains 
to  keep  these  always  cleaned  and  in  good  shape,  for 
this  is  a  very  important  factor  in  their  preservation 
and  wear,  as  well  as  in  their  direct  bearing  on  the 
horse's  work.  After  these  details  have  been  attended 
to,  the  horse  is  given  a  walk  and  a  little  grass ;  then 
the  box  is  cleaned  out,  the  horse  again  rubbed  off,  his 
feet  attended  to  (to  which  I  refer  below),  fresh  bedding 
put  in  and  his  regular  clothes  put  on,  and  he  is  all 
through  with  for  the  day,  excepting  his  supper. 

"Writing  here  in  California,  where  we  never  have  any 
trouble  in  keeping  our  horses  warm  enough  in  winter, 
perhaps  I  have  neglected,  in  discussing  the  conditions 
sought  in  stabling,  to  refer  to  this  phase  of  horse  keep- 
ino:  that  confronts  breeders  and  trainers,  in  a  region 
where  the  winters  are  more  rigorous.  In  speaking  of 
clothing,  it  may  be  touched  upon.  At  all  seasons  of 
the  3'ear  our  nights  are  cool  in  California,  but  they 
are  never  cold.  Hence,  it  is  easier  here  to  keep  the 
horse  in  a  uniform  temperature  than  in  the  l^orth  and 
East.  I  need  not  say  that  horses  must  be  warm 
enough,  or  they  cannot  be  kept  in  good  condition. 
They  will  not,  on  the  same  amount  of  food,  thrive  if 
cold.  It  is,  I  am  sure,  an  indisputable  fact  that  all 
animals  can  be  kept  thrifty  and  strong  on  less  food 
in  a  comfortable  temperature  than  in  one  where  they 
are  chilled.  I  am  not  altogether  sure  that  artificially 
heated  barns  will,  at   all   times,  prove  wholly  satis- 


HOODS    AXD    MUZZLES.  261 

factory.  I  think  horses  must  be  more  liable  to  con- 
tract colds,  going  out  of  a  heated  barn  into  the  cold 
midwinter  air  of  our  ^N'orthern  States,  but,  as  I  have 
had  no  experience  in  this  direction,  I  cannot  speak 
positively  on  the  point.  A  temperature  of  about  sixty 
degrees  is  high  enough  for  health  ;  and  the  reader  in 
a  northern  region  will  appreciate  from  his  own 
V experience,  without  my  reminder,  the  importance  of 
duly  providing  for  the  horse's  comfort  in  winter  by 
stabling  and  good  clothing. 

For  this  country  I  like  a  linen  blanket,  with  a 
lighter  blanket  over  it,  and  it  seems  to  suit  all  sorts 
of  weather.  In  winter  it  keeps  cold  out — or  rather 
keeps  the  natural  warmth  in — and  in  summer  it  does 
not  get  sweaty,  keeping  the  horse's  coat  nice  under  all 
conditions. 

The  hood  is  an  article  of  clothing  that  I  am  not  sure 
is  ever  absolutely  necessary,  and,  to  say  the  least, 
should  be  little  used.  For  sweating  out  the  throat, 
or  for  any  purpose  that  a  hood  answers,  I  prefer  a 
jowl-piece.  The  use  of  heavy  sweat- hoods  is,  I  am 
sure,  often  weakening  and  injurious,  and,  if  used  at  all, 
it  should  be  with  great* discrimination  and  care. 

Muzzles  are  an  invention  in  horse-wear  that  are  an 
unmitigated  evil,  and  if  every  trainer  were  of  my 
mind  the  harness-makers  would  soon  forget  how  to 
make  them.  That  there  are  gluttons  among  horses 
we  all  know.  They  will  drive  their  heads  to  the 
bottom  of  a  bucket  of  water,  and  take  chances  of 
breathing  through  their  ears  rather  than  draw  back ; 
they  will  try  to  swallow  three  quarts  of  oats  in  one 
gulp,  will  gorge  on  all  the  hay,  straw  or  anything  eat- 


262  TRAINING    THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 

able  in  sight,  and  even  in  their  sleep  will  dream  of 
hay-stacks.  With  such  a  horse  I  would  far  rather 
regulate  his  feed  carefully,  bed  him  with  something 
he  cannot  eat,  or  even  tie  him  up.  In  a  rare  case  the 
muzzle  might  be  used  on  a  gluttonous  colt,  but  they 
are  hardly  ever  necessary,  and  their  use  hardly  ever 
excusable. 

I  do  not  conceive  it  necessary,  nor  a  profitable  use 
of  space,  to  go  through  all  the  details  of  stable  equip- 
ments and  describe  the  simple  uses  of  such  utensils  as 
brushes,  combs,  towels,  sponges,  etc.  Whatever  curry- 
combs may  have  been  invented  for,  they  should  not  be 
applied  to  a  horse's  skin,  but  only  to  the  brush.  Corn 
brushes  are  labor-saving  devices  in  cleaning,  but  are 
more  irritating  than  the  softer  kinds,  and  are  apt  to 
show  their  work  in  thinning  out  the  mane  and  tail. 
The  towel,  backed  up  by  sufficient  and  willing  "elbow- 
grease,"  should  do  the  principal  work  in  cleaning  the 
horse. 

The  importance  of  having  good  rubbers,  and  the 
difficulty  of  getting  them,  are  things  that  confront 
every  trainer.  Cheap  rubbers  are  a  poor  investment, 
and  they  are  always  to  be  had,  while  the  competent 
ones  are  scarce.  An  inferior  or  a  vicious  rubber  will 
render  ineffective  the  best  efforts  of  a  trainer.  They 
should  be  sober  and  competent  men,  good-tempered 
and  kind,  and  should  show  a  pride  in  the  horses  they 
care  for.  Such  men  generally  soon  graduate  into  the 
driving  ranks,  for  as  a  rule  they  are  intelligent,  and 
naturally  adapted  to  handling  horses.  At  Palo  Alto 
we  have  one  rubber  to  care  for  three  horses;  while 
out  campaigning  one  looks  after  two  horses. 


BOOTS.  263 

An  important — a  very  important — part  of  the  equip- 
ment of  tiie  training-stable  is  the  outfit  of  boots.  Of 
the  ordinary  harness  I  need  not  speak,  as  good  harness, 
well  made,  strong,  light,  perfectly  fitting  and  pliable 
can  be  bought  for  a  good  price  in  any  city  in  the  coun- 
try, from  dealers  of  local  repute.  The  same  may  be 
said  of  sulkies— the  Caffrey  and  the  Toomey  sulkies 
being  the  best.  But  concerning  boots  more  extended 
remark  is  in  order. 

The  necessity  of  booting  I  have  already  referred  to 
emphatically  enough,  and  I  have  furthermore  already 
remarked  upon  the  importance  of  having  boots  that  fit 
properly.  Xo  horse  or  colt  will  fall  to  hitching  and 
hobbling  if  he  is  properly  protected  with  boots,  unless 
he  is  sore,  or  over-hurried.  The  boot  is  a  precaution 
against  possible  injuries  that  may  come  to  the  truest- 
gaited  and  most  honest  of  horses;  and  it  gives  the 
horse  confidence  to  strike  out  fearlessly.  No  judicious 
or  experienced  trainer  will  ever  attempt  to  work  colts 
without  first  properly  booting  them. 

By  far  the  best  boots  made  in  this  country  are  those 
turned  out  by  J.  A.  McKerron  of  San  Francisco.  He 
has  experimented  and  worked  tirelessly,  and  has  per- 
fected many  an  improved  boot  now  in  daily  use  all 
over  the  country.  I  have  studied  the  making  of  boots 
considerably  myself,  and  some  of  the  improved  Mc- 
Kerron boots  are  practically  of  my  designing,  among 
them  being  about  all  the  varieties  of  "  swivel  boots." 
I  will,  with  the  aid  of  cuts,  describe  some  of  these 
that  I  have  found  most  serviceable. 

The  Marvin  Bell  Quarter  Boot,  Xo.  68,  is  an  im- 
proved quarter-boot,  and  especially  suitable  for  young- 


26i 


TRAINING    THE   TROTTING    HORSE. 


No.  68. 


sters  in  their  earlier  work.     It  has  a  buckskin  roll  at 
the  top,  and  I  have  never  known  it 
to  chafe  a  colt.     I  may  say  that  I 
am  partial  to  the  bell  style  of  quar- 
ter-boot. 

This  boot  Xo.  36  is  a  front  ankle- 
boot,  which  I  first  had  made  for 
Bonita.     It  is  made  of   white  felt, 

with  leather  cap,  and  has  a  buckskin 
roll  on  top  for  the  purpose  of  holding 
up  a  roll. 

This  hinge  quarter- 
boot  (105)  is  provided 
with  steel  plates  and  is 
a  splendid  boot  for  a 
No.  36.  hard  hitter.  The  parts 

coming  in  contact  with  the  foot  are  ^^^-  los- 

of  soft,  white  felt,  and  though  the  leather  backing  is 

stout,  and  the 
steel  plates  make 
it  an  invulner- 
able protection, 
it  does  not  chafe 
or  hurt  the  foot. 
No.  Ill  is  a 
knee  and  arm 
boot  designed  by 
me  for  Gertrude 
E us  sell.  She 
struck  there,  and 
^'o-  !"•  '  I  failed   to  suc- 

ceed in  protecting  her  with  any  boot  then   extant. 


BOOTS. 


265 


For  a  xery  hard  knee-hitter  a  steel  plate  may  be  put 

in  the  cap. 

The  Caster  Buckskin  Shin  Roll,  Xo.  35, 

is  very  effectual  for  a  horse  that  hits  under 

the  knee,  and   is  a  boot  well  worth  trying 

in  o^aitino:  a 
horse.  Like 
the  bell  quar-  no.  35. 

ter-boot,  it  often  gives  the 
horse  confidence,  and  also 
proves  a  good  substitute 
for  weight  in  balancing. 

Cut  Xo.  67  shows  the 
pattern  of  the  best  front 
shin-boot  I  have  yet  used. 

It  has  rolls  and  swivel,  does  not  interfere  with  the 

action  ;   while  affording  full  cord  protection,  it  keeps 

the  legs  comparatively  cool. 
For  a  horse  that  hits  his 

hock  or  rear  shins,  the  com- 
bined hind    shin,    speed-cut 

and  hock-boot  shown  in  Cut 

Xo.    72    will    afford    ample 

protection. 

Though  the   majority    of 

horses    need    only  quarter, 

toe  (or  "scalper")  and  shin- 
boots,  there  are  hundreds  of 

different    varieties,  each    ofi 

which    may    at    some   time 

come  into  play,  but  these  here  described  will  meet  all 

ordinary  emergencies. 


266  TRAINING    THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 

What  I  have  already  said  renders  it  unnecessary  to 
add  miicii  more  on  the  subject  of  toe-weights.  Like 
hoods  and  muzzles,  they  may  be  in  rare  cases  beneficial 
and  even  necessary,  but  they  are  so  much  abused  that 
it  is  a  conviction  with  me  that  it  is  the  safest  plan  to 
discard  them  altogether.  The  time  is  surely  coming 
when  toe-weight  trotters  will  cut  a  small  figure  on  the 
turf,  and  toe-weights  will  gradually  be  abolished.  So 
I  may  say  that  I  am  opposed  on  general  principles  to 
the  use  of  toe-weights,  but  if  I  had  a  horse  that  would 
not  trot  in  any  other  way,  or  a  pacer  I  could  convert 
in  no  other  way,  I  would,  as  a  last  resort,  try  toe- 
weights.  I  would  exhaust  every  other  resource  at 
my  command  before  putting  on  the  "  murderous  toe- 
weiffhts,"  and  if  I  had  to  use  them  I  would  discard 
them  just  as  quickly  as  possible  after  they  had  served 
their  purpose.  I  would  try  the  horse  without  them 
every  little  while,  so  that  whenever  he  Avould  go  with- 
out them  they  could  be  finally  cast  aside.  As  I  have 
already  said,  they  are  in  the  majority  of  cases  used  un- 
necessarily. They  are  ado])ted  as  a  remedy  for  evils 
that  can  best  be  met  by  removing  the  cause,  and  as 
horses  becoming  unbalanced  by  being  urged  beyond 
what  they  can  honestly  do,  hitching,  etc.,  from  hitting 
themselves,  or  from  any  of  the  many  minor  causes  that 
tend  to  unbalance  a  horse's  action.  Toe-weights  have 
undoubtedly  made  some  trotters,  and  have  been  valu- 
able in  converting  pacers  to  trot,  but  the  perfect  trot- 
ter should  go  without  them  ;  and  the  trotter  that  trots 
fastest,  carries  his  speed  the  furthest  and  lasts  sound 
the  longest  will,  in  the  majority  of  cases,  be  the  horse 
that  trots  without  metal  encumbrances  on  his  toes.     I 


TOE-WEIGHTS.  267 

cannot  but  believe  that  had  Maud  S.  never  worn  toe- 
weights  she  would  have  gone  even  faster  than  she  has. 
Had  she  been  educated  from  her  youngest  days  to  trot 
naturally  balanced  there  is  no  doubt  in  my  mind  that 
she  would  have  been  a  greater  mare  than  she  was  on 
the  turf,  even  though  that  be  saying  a  great  deal.  So 
my  earnest  advice  to  the  reader  is  to  train  up  his  colt 
without  any  artificial  balancing,  assuring  him  that  the 
naturally  balanced  youngster  will  on  the  turf  have  a 
great  advantage  over  the  rival  that  has  to  lift  even  a 
quarter  of  a  pound  of  lead  on  each  front  toe  at  every 
step.  In  the  stress  of  battle  this  handicap  is  bound 
to  tell  before  the  wire  is  reached  in  the  last  heat. 


268  TRAINING   THE   TROTTING   HORSE. 


CHAPTEE  XXIY. 

STOPPING   THE    FEET CARING    FOR   THE  LEGS THE  SOAK- 
ING  TUB INJURIES  RESULTING    FROM  HOT  -  SOAKING 

THE     COMPOSITION      OF     THE     HOOF SHOEING THE 

ELEMENTS   OF  THE  EXTERNAL  ANATOMY  OF  THE  FOOT 

THE    WALL,    THE    SOLE,    THE     FROG     AND     THE     BARS 

THEIR   FUNCTIONS THE    WALL   THE   BEARING   PART 

THE   ANGLE    OF   THE    FOOT   AND    PASTERN EFFECTS  OF 

HIGH    AND    LOW    HEELS LEVEL   AND    BEARING   TO    BE 

PRESERVED STICK   TO    NATURE THE    SHOE TRIM- 
MING   AND   NAILING EXPERIENCE   WITH    TIPS. 

When  we  put  our  horse  away  after  work,  in  the  last 
chapter,  we  had  done  everything  but  attend  to  his  feet. 
They  should  be  carefully  cleaned  and  washed  out,  and 
stopped  up  with  clay.  The  use  of  such  filth  as  cow- 
manure,  etc.,  is  not  only  disgusting,  but  it  breeds  dis- 
eases of  the  foot,  such  as  thrush  and  canker.  We 
avoid,  in  all  cases,  the  use  of  oils  on  the  hoof.  The 
cooling,  cleansing,  and  moistening  effect  of  washing  is 
all  that  is  necessary  to  keep  a  healthy  hoof  in  good 
condition.  Oil  will  spoil  any  hoof,  make  it  brittle,  and 
generally  demoralize  its  texture. 

This  brings  us  to  a  consideration  of  the  care  of  the 
feet  and  legs,  involving  some  remarks  on  the  subject 
of  shoeing.  It  is  the  custom  in  almost  all  books  on  the 
horse  to  include  long  technical  and  theoretical  disserta- 
tions on  the  foot  and  how  it  should  be  shod.     I  have 


CARE    OF    THE    LEGS.  269 

no  intention  of  following  this  example,  for  I  do  not 
think  the  ordinary  reader  cares  to  wade  through  more 
than  the  plain  and  practical  observations  of  a 
trainer— observations  which  he  can  follow,  understand 
and  appreciate.  Every  horseman  should  have  a  good 
general  knowledge  of  the  anatomy  of  not  only  the  leg 
and  foot,  but  the  whole  structure  of  the  horse.  How- 
ever, for  scientific  instruction  on  that  branch  of  the 
subject,  the  veterinary  schools  and  the  standard  veter- 
inary works  are  the  proper  sources  of  information.  I 
shall  only  refer  to  these  matters  sufficiently  to  make 
myself  understood. 

The  care  of  the  legs,  so  long  as  they  remain  clean 
and  free  from  inflammation,  is  a  comparatively  simple 
matter,  but,  after  trouble  begins,  the  trainer  may  be 
prepared  for  vexation  of  spirit.  Just  here  I  do*^  not 
proi3ose  to  speak  of  the  treatment  of  injuries  or 
unsoundness,  having  some  remarks  to  make  on  these 
subjects  later  on,  but  will  confine  this  chapter  to  the 
care  of  the  horse  in  a  normal  condition.  Proper  boot- 
ing, as  I  have  said,  is  the  first  essential,  then  hand- 
rubbing  and  bandaging.  After  work  this  leg-wash  will 
be  found  an  excellent  application  : 

Sugar  oflead 2  ounces. 

Laudanum 2  ounces 

^^'ater 1  q^j^^^_ 

Eub  this  well  in  around  the  joints,  and  along  the 
tendons;  then  bandage  with  a  pliable  bandage  "of  a 
rather  open  or  porous  texture.  Be  sure  that  the 
bandage  covers  the  joint  properly,  as  directed  in  the 
previous  chapter;  and,  while  it  should  be  set  moder- 


270  TRAINING   THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 

ately  tight,  it  must  not  be  ti^^ht  enough  to  interfere 
with  the  circulation,  and  should  not  be  left  on  long 
enough  to  allow  the  leg  to  become  heated — certainly 
not  over  two  hours  —  but  the  time  will,  in  a  great 
measure,  be  governed  by  the  conditions,  the  weather, 
etc.  I  have  found  this  lotion  excellent  in  hardening 
and  keeping  hard  and  clean  the  legs  of  horses  in 
strong  w'ork.  But,  perhaps,  after  all  there  is  no  lotion 
or  no  treatment  so  cooling  and  beneficial  in  effect  as  a 
walk  in  the  dewy  grass  of  earl}^  morning. 

I  am  much  opposed  to  the  use  of  the  soaking  tub. 
Soaking  horses  legs  and  feet  in  hot  water  is  certainly 
injurious,  though  the  practice  is  much  favored  by 
trainers.  As  far  as  the  legs  are  concerned  it  opens  the 
pores,  relaxes  everything,  and  causes  them  to  fever-up 
quicker  every  time  it  is  resorted  to,  until  the  whole 
mechanism  of  ligament  and  cartilage  is  ripe  for  break- 
down. As  to  the  feet,  can  you  imagine  that  to  keep  a 
horse's  foot  immersed  in  hot  water,  for  quite  a  pro- 
longed period,  can  have  a  good  effect  ?  I  know  that  it 
is  demoralizing  to  the  foot.  The  texture  of  the  horn  it 
destro3^s,  and  renders  brittle  and  hard.  The  horn  of 
a  horse's  foot  is  "a  series  of  small  tubes  cemented 
together  by  a  natural  glue  having  such  adherent  power 
as  to  bring  them  into  a  compact  mass  nearly  as  dense 
as  whalebone."  As  Mr.  Joseph  Cairn  Simpson  very 
correctly  argues  :  "  The  outside  of  the  wall  is  naturally 
protected  from  imbibing  moisture  by  a  thin  covering 
of  enamel  which,  when  in  a  natural  state,  is  an  abso- 
lute protection  against  the  ingress  of  water.  .  .  . 
When  the  enamel  is  rasped  away  as  high,  oftentimes 
higher  than  the  '  clinches,'   when  the  knife  and  rasp 


THE    SOAKING    TUB.  271 

have  cut  off  the  ends  of  the  tubes,  the  natural  guards 
are  rendered  unless,  and  water  is  freely  admitted.  The 
tube  is  softened,  the  material  which  gave  it  elasticity 
and  strength  is  replaced  by  that  which  has  neither 
property ;  and,  w^hen  that  is  dispersed,  there  is  a  col- 
lapse of  the  tubes,  and,  per  consequence,  contraction. 
This  is  the  result  of  soakino-  so  far  as  the  wall  is  con- 
cerned.  .  .  .  The  injurious  effects  of  hot  water  on 
the  wall  can  be  summarized  briefly,  as  follows :  Exclu- 
sion of  the  natural  material  for  keeping  the  tubes  in 
proper  shape ;  replacing  that  by  a  fluid  which  is 
rapidly  evaporated  by  heat,  and  which  has  a  tendency 
to  change  the  texture  of  the  horn  from  a  tough, 
strong  body  to  one  that  it  makes  hard  and  brittle." 
The  idea  that  soaking  in  hot  water  is  necessarv  to 
keep  the  hoof  in  the  tough,  elastic  natural  condi- 
tion is  erroneous.  Cleansino:  and  washino:  the  foot 
in  cold  water  will  not  interfere  with  the  hoof,  and 
will  have  a  cooling,  grateful  effect.  The  natural 
secretions  of  a  healthy  foot  afford  all  the  "moisture" 
necessarv  to  keep  it  in  normal  condition  when  the 
horse  is  kept  in  a  proper  manner.  Xo  one  is  more 
opposed  to  allowing  horses'  feet  to  become  unnaturally 
dry  than  I  am ;  and  for  that  very  reason  I  have 
insisted  that  our  California  summers  are  difficult 
periods  in  which  to  keep  horses  in  training  sound  and 
well  of  foot.  But  the  remedy  is  not  in  the  soaking 
tub.  It  is  inexcusable  with  a  well,  sound  horse.  The 
normal  foot  that  is  washed  and  cleaned  as  I  have 
directed,  and  that  often  feels  the  damp,  cool  earth,  and 
the  dewy  grasses,  will  need  nothing  else  to  keep  it 
healthy. 


272  TRAINING  THE  TROTTING  HORSE. 

To  treat  of  shoeino^  thoroughly  would  involve  a 
minute  consideration  of  the  anatom}^  of  the  foot  and 
leg ;  and  even  to  treat  it  with  that  brevity  which  this 
work  necessitates,  a  superficial  consideration  of  the 
formation  of  the  foot  is  necessary. 

The  celebrated  English  authority,  Fearnley,  very 
properl}^  remarks  that  the  majority  of  writers  on  the 
foot  have  erred  in  considering  it  in  isolation,  or  by 
itself,  instead  of  as  a  part  of  the  whole.  It  seems  clear 
to  me  that  to  intelligently  study  shoeing  the  foot  must 
be  considered  not  by  itself,  but  in  its  relation  to  the 
whole  structure. 

Certainly  the  effects  of  bad  shoeing  or  of  indifferent 
care  of  the  feet  affect  the  ankles  and  tendons  directly, 
and  as  far  as  shoeing  is  concerned,  the  foot  proper 
cannot  be  considered  without  reference  to  these  parts. 

The  external  anatomy  of  the  foot  may  for  our  pur- 
pose be  considered  in  three  divisions  :  1.  The  wall,  or 
outer  crust,  from  the  coronet  to  the  sole.  2.  The  sole, 
which  Saint  Bel  defines  as  "  that  ]mrt  which  covers  the 
whole  inferior  surface  of  the  foot  excepting  the  frog.'' 
3.  The  frog,  the  insensible,  spongy,  triangular  body  in 
the  center  of  the  foot. 

The  wall,  "the  circular  boundary-wall  inclosing  the 
internal  structures,"  extends  from  the  coronet,  (the 
border-line  Avhere  the  skin  joins  the  hoof,  which  is 
technically  called  "  the  line  of  the  coronary  band  "),  in 
an  obhque  direction  to  the  bottom  of  the  foot,  terminat- 
ing in  ''a  circular  projecting  border."  This  is  the 
natural  hearing  part  of  the  foot,  and  to  it  the  shoe  is 
nailed.  Bracy  Clark  declares  that  the  slant  of  the 
foot  from  the  toe  to  the  coronet  should  form  an  ano-le 


THE    ANATOMY    OF    THE    FOOT.  273 

of  forty -five  degrees  with  the  ground  surface ;  and 
another  noted  writer  sets  the  average  depth  of  the  foot 
when  ready  to  receive  the  shoe  at  three  and  one-half 
inches  from  the  coronary  line  to  the  toe,  and  the  depth 
of  the  heels  he  sets  at  from  one  and  one-half  to  two 
inches.  The  wall  is  thicker  in  the  fore  foot  at  the  toe 
than  at  any  other  part,  averaging  there  about  three- 
eighths  of  an  inch ;  at  the  quarters,  about  midway 
from  the  toe  to  the  heel,  the  wall  is  from  one-quarter  to 
three-eighths  of  an  inch  thick,  and  at  the  heels  about 
the  same. 

The  bars  are  a  continuation  of  the  wall,  extending 
therefrom  at  the  heels,  obliquely  into  the  center  of  the 
foot  between  the  sole  and  the  frog,  "constituting  two 
inner  walls  or  lateral  fences  between  that  body  and  the 
sole."     In  a  state  of  nature  they  bear  some  pressure. 

The  natural  function  of  the  frog  is  that  of  a  cushion, 
and  being  spongy  and  elastic,  when  called  upon  to  bear 
weight  it  spreads,  and  to  accommodate  this  action  the 
wall  expands  from  the  quarters  back.  Indeed,  the 
structure  of  the  foot  is  such  that  even  if  the  frog  sus- 
tains no  pressure,  the  heel  must  spread  at  every  stride 
when  the  weight  comes  upon  the  foot.  You  can 
imagine  then  what  the  efifect  must  be  of  shoeing  a 
horse  so  that  the  heels  are  held  rigidly  to  an  unyield- 
ing shoe. 

We  have  seen  that  the  wall  is  the  natural  bearing 
part  of  the  foot,  and  the  frog  an  accessory.  The  bear- 
ing of  the  shoe  should  be  wholly  on  the  wall,  not  on 
the  sole,  and  the  ground  surface  of  the  wall  is  the  only 
part  that  should  ever  be  pared.  This  is  the  part  that 
like  the  human  nail  grows  exuberantly,  and  must  be 


274 


TRAINING    THE   TROTTING    HORSE. 


pared  clown  every  time  the  horse  is  shod.  The  knife 
should  never  be  used  on  the  sole  or  frog. 

What  we  ma\"  call  tlie  angle  of  the  foot  is  a  very 
important  consideration,  for  the  slant  or  obliquity  of 
the  pastern  must  very  materially  depend  upon  that  of 
the  hoof.  It  needs  no  elaboration  to  show  that  if  the 
heel  be  extremely  high  the  pastern  must  be  very 
straight,  and  if  it  be  very  low  the  pastern  will  be  very 
oblique. 

Fearnley,  the  noted  English  authority  to  whom  I 
have  referred,  treats  the  fore  legs  as  the  weight-bearers, 
and  the  hind  legs  as  the  propellers.     Practically  this  is 


^ 


true,  but  whether  in  the  trotting-horse  the  fore  leg  has 
strictly  no  other  function  than  weight-bearing,  I  am 
not  entirely  sure.  However  that  may  be,  it  is  the 
weight-bearer,  and  Fearnley  fixes  the  coffin-joint  as  the 
focus  of  weight  in  the  foot.  If  the  foot  be  either 
too  high  or  too  low  at  the  heel,  if  the  proper  angle  of 
the  ground  surface  with  the  line  of  the  coronet  be 
changed,  then  it  is  obvious  that  the  focus  of  weight 
will  be  disturbed.  It  will  be  thrown  either  too  far 
forward  or  too  far  backward,  just  as  it  would  be  thrown 
on  one  side  if  you  put  on  a  shoe  two  inches  thick  on 
one  side  and  a  half  an  inch  on  the  other.  The  import- 
ance then  of  keeping  the   foot  properly   leveled   is 


SHOEIXG.  275 

readily  apparent.  The  cuts  on  the  next  page 
illustrate  the  idea.  Fig.  1  showing  the  effect  on  the 
pastern  where  the  heel  is  too  low ;  2,  the  proper  angles 
of  foot  and  pastern,  and  3,  an  excessively  high  heel ; 
the  joint  thrown  forward,  and  the  natural  s^jrlng  of 
the  pastern  lost. 

You  observ^e  that  if  the  heel  is  allowed  to  grow 
unduly  high,  the  inclination  is  to  knuckle ;  if  it  be^too 
low  the  direction  of  weight  is  thrown  backward,  and 
the  strain  on  the  back  tendons  can  be  imagined.  The 
great  aim  is  to  preserve  the  natural  level,  and  through 
it  the  proper  bearing  and  balance. 

We  trim  our  colt's  feet  and  shoe  our  horses  every 
three  weeks,  which  will  be  found  as  long  a  period 
as  the  feet  can  be  allowed  to  go  unattended  to  with 
impunity. 

In  all  my  studies  and  methods  in  training  I  never 
forget  to  keep  in  sight  a  due  regard  for  what  is  natu- 
ral. Shoeing  is  unnecessary  to  the  horse  in  his  wild, 
natural  state ;  it  is  artificial  and  unnatural,  because 
the  domesticated  horse  is  kept  in  an  artificial  and 
unnatural  state.  It  must,  therefore,  be  regarded  as  a 
necessary  evil.  But  the  foot  of  the  horse,  unprotected, 
will  not  stand  the  battering  of  turf-training;  there- 
fore, the  prime  and  sole  object  of  shoeing  is  to  afford 
the  wall  of  the  foot  protection  against  the  terrific 
concussion  of  fast  trotting  on  more  or  less  hard 
tracks. 

The  next  consideration  is  to  make  that  protection 
as  light  and  uncumbersome  as  consistent  with  efficiency. 
So,  at  Palo  Alto,  we  shoe  our  horses  all  pretty  much 
alike,  with  a  plain,  light,  simple  shoe,  such  as  is  shown 


276 


TRAINING  THE  TROTTING  HORSE. 


in  the  cuts,  ranging  in  weiglit  from  say,  eight  to  four- 
teen ounces.  I  like  very  well  what  is  called  a  half- 
concave  and  half-convex 
shoe.  The  toe  concaved 
on  the  ground  surface 
will  not  throw  dirt 
against  the  horse's  belly, 
which  is  sufficient  to 
make  some  unsteadv, 
while  the  concavity  on 
the  upper  surface  j^re- 
vents  it  from  bearing  on 
the  sole.  We  generally 
have   the  shoe  drop   off 

Typical  Palo  Alto  Shoe.  at     the     heel  ;     i.    €.,     WC 

begin  about  an  inch  from  the  heel  to  champer  it  off  to 
a  tapering  end. 

My  explanation  has 
been  mainly  directed 
toward  making  clear  the 
reasons  for  preserving 
the  natural  level  and 
bearing,  and  the  neces- 
sit}^  of  non-interference 
with  the  expansion  and 
contraction  of  the  hoof 
from  the  quarter  to  the 
heel,   according  as    the 

foot  bears  weight  or   is  inside  of  shoe. 

relieved  of  it.  The  levelling  I  have  already  spoken 
of ;  in  the  manner  of  nailing  the  shoe,  the  freedom 
to  expand  must  be  preserved.     We,  as  a  rule,  put  in 


TIPS.  277 

six  nails,  three  on  either  side,  lut  never  put  a  nail  haclc 
of  the  yytdei^t  part  of  the  hoof — the  quarters  —  thus 
leaving  the  heels  free. 

The  foot  should  be  so  trimmed  that  the  frog  will 
lights  touch  the  ground,  but  take  little  or  no  weigh ^. 
It  is  one  function  of  the  frog  to  keep  the  heels  open 
and  healthy  ;  if  it  become  wholly  inactive,  it,  as  a  noted 
writer  puts  it,  "melts  away  and  allows  the  heels  to 
come  together."  On  the  other  hand,  I  do  not  believe  it 
can,  in  track  work,  take  any  considerable  weight  without 
injurious  results  ensuing.  In  the  natural  state  the  frog 
was,  beyond  dispute,  intended  to  bear  a  considerable 
amount  of  pressure,  to  break  the  shock  of  concussion 
on  the  wall,  but  I  am  not  prepared  to  believe  that  it  is 
equal  to  the  emergency  of  standing  any  appreciable 
share  of  the  shock  in  hard  track  work. 

As  to  the  substitution  of  tips  for  shoes  I  will  say 
that  on  some  soils  and  on  some  feet  they  may  be  used 
to  advantage.  But  my  experience  has  been  that  they 
are  not  suitable  as  a  rule  for  track-work.  I  have  given 
them  a  very  fair  trial,  and  have  found  that  at  least  on 
our  gravelly  soil  they  fail  to  sufficiently  protect  the 
/eet  of  horses  in  training.  The  tip,  as  all  know,  is  a 
plate  extending  around  the  toe  from  quarter  to  quarter 
and  set  in  or  inlaid  in  the  wall  flush  with  the  ground 
surface  of  the  rear  part  of  the  hoof.  I  found  that  the 
hoof  behind  the  tip  Avore  away  so  much  faster  than 
the  tip  that  soon  all  the  pressure  came  on  the  toe,  the 
level  of  the  ground  surface  being  destroyed,  and 
eventually  the  toe,  as  a  natural  consequence,  turned 
up.  To  reset  the  tip  often  enough  to  preserve  the 
level  would  soon  necessitate  cutting  up  into  the  sensi- 


278  TRAINING    THE    TKOTTING    HORSE. 

tive  part  of  the  foot.  In  short,  I  found  that  on  our 
tracks  the  heel  wanted  some  protection  as  well  as  the 
toe.  On  a  soft  soil  for  jogging,  for  a  horse  not  in 
hard  training  or  for  a  horse  with  contracted  heels, 
they  are  excellent,  but  are  inadequate  protection  as  a 
rule  in  the  wear  and  tear  of  constant  track-work. 

In  shoeing,  the  aim  is  to  keep  the  foot  elastic,  3^ield- 
ing  and  natural.  Be  careful  with  the  knife,  cutting 
onl}^  the  horn  of  the  wall.  Leave  the  frog,  the  sole 
and  the  bars  alone.  They  will  care  for  themselves. 
When  the  foot  is  properly  leveled,  then  fit  the  shoe 
to  the  foot ;  not  the  foot  to  the  shoe. 

Shoeing,  like  everything  else,  should  be  looked  at 
from  a  common-sense  standpoint.  There  are  no  Avon- 
derful  and  unrevealed  mj^steries  about  it.  Keeying  in 
view  what  nature  intended,  remembering  that  the  sole 
purpose  of  shoeing  is  to  afford  protection,  the  simpler 
the  better;  steering  clear  of  quack  smiths  that  know  it 
all  and  recklessly  slash  and  rasp — these  are  the  most 
important  precautions  to  be  kept  in  view  concerning 
shoeing. 


TKACKS.  279 


CHAPTER    XXY. 

TEACKS SHAPE  AXD    TREATSIEXT THE    EGG-SHAPED  TEACK 

THE    CUSHIOX^READY    FOR   EACIXG    PEEPAEATIOX 

THE  COLT   MUST   BE    GOIXG   SQUAEE CHECKS    AND   BITS 

AGAIN OBSERVATIONS   OF    JOHN    SPLAN — HIS    EXPEEI- 

ENCE    WITH     FANNY    WITHEESPOON DRIVING    WITH    a 

WATCH THE     PREPARATION     FOR     RACING A     WEEK'S 

DAILY       PROGRAMME       DETAILED PRESERVING     SPEED 

WHILE  CONDITIONING  THE  HORSE  TO  CARRY  IT TREAT- 
MENT VARIES  WITH  DIFFERENT  HORSES THE  IMPOR- 
TANCE   OF    PROPER   JOGGING THE     TRAINER  MUST  NOT 

TRUST    DETAILS   TOO    MUCH   TO    HIS    STABLE  ASSISTANTS. 

Having  discussed  the  stable  care  of  the  horse  we  are 
workmg,  we  will  now  return  to  the  track. 

In  speaking  of  the  necessary  facilities  for  training 
we  cannot  omit  some  remark  on  the  track  itself.  For 
racing  of  course  the  regulation  track  is  best;  but  for  a 
home  training  track  I  like  an  egg-shaped  one,  so 
planned  that  the  stretches  come  to  and  go  away  from 
the  barn.  I  have  already  spoken  of  the  habit  occa- 
sionally contracted  by  colts  of  turning  out  toward  the 
track-gate  every  time  they  pass  it  in  their  work,  and 
the  reason  of  my  recommendation  of  an  egg-shaped 
track,  with  the  short  turn  near  the  stables,  is  obvious. 
Goino^  on  the  stretch  awav  from  the  barn  the  colt  groes 
straight  about  his  business ;  coming  down  the  stretch 
toward  the  barn  he  brushes  fast  and  willingly. 


280  TRAINING    THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 

l^ou  are  fortunate  if  you  can  have  a  soil  and  can 
build  a  track  that  need  not  be  harrowed.  Tracks  that 
become  deep  and  heav}^  are  bad  for  training.  The  colt 
strains,  the  sulky  draws  hard,  and  the  action  is  inter- 
fered with.  The  horse  should  trot  on  a  smooth  sur- 
face, wdiere  the  sulky  and  the  weight  it  carries  draws 
as  lightly  as  j^ossible.  The  track  that  can  be  kept  in 
order  by  simply  scraping  and  sprinkling  is  the  best. 
The  aim  is  to  have  the  track  smooth  yet  spring}^,  to 
have  it  clean  without  being  hard,  and  elastic  without 
being  clinging. 

At  Palo  Alto  we  w^et  the  track  every  night  and  har- 
row it  every  morning.  We  try  to  have  as  little  dirt  as 
possible  on  its  surface,  and  yet  not  have  it  hard  enough 
to  jar.  Last  fall  w^e  had  our  track  in  such  shape  that 
only  sprinkling  and  scraping  was  necessary.  This  was 
brought  about  by  plowing,  manuring,  then  plowing  the 
manure  under,  after  which  it  was  sown  with  rye. 
When  the  rye  was  about  two  feet  high  we  plowed  it 
under,  not  very  deeply,  and  then  shaped  up  the  track. 
The  rye  was  sown  December  10th  and  plowed  under 
March  1st. 

The  great  point  in  track  building  is  to  get  a  perfect 
cushion — one  that  is  smooth,  springy  and  clean,  where 
there  is  a  certain  amount  of  yielding  when  the  foot 
strikes,  but  yet  no  softness  of  surface. 

To  the  point  w^here  we  branched  off  track  work  to 
consider  stabling  and  stable  care  w^e  will  now  return. 
The  colt  was  going  smooth  and  true  and  was  per- 
fectly balanced,  or  else  you  had  failed  to  rightly  inter- 
pret and  apply  my  instructions;  for,  though  it  is  a 
repetition  of  what  has  already  been  said,  if  he  became 


SEVERE    BITS    AND    CHECKS.  281 

unbalanced,  hitched,  and  got  rough  in  his  gait,  the 
proper  remedy  was  to  go  back  to  a  rate  at  which  he 
could  go  square.  I  cannot  too  often  or  too  emphati- 
cally declare  the  necessity  of  preserving  true  balance. 
Every  revolution  should  be  as  smooth  and  true  as  a 
perfectly  balanced  wheel  that  runs  with  little  expendi- 
ture of  driving  power — not  like  a  wheel  with  a  big 
side  to  it,  that  is  only  kept  laboriously  revolving  by 
constant  driving.  Development  ceases  at  that  point 
where  truly  balanced  and  regular  action  is  transformed 
into  the  jerky  hitching,  irregular  way  of  "  getting 
there  "  that  we  so  often  see. 

You  can,  with  little  practice,  judge  whether  a  horse 
driven  by  another  is  trotting  square  by  listening  to  the 
foot-falls.  The  sound  of  a  fast,  well  balanced  trotter's 
steps  mark  time  as  regularl}^  as  the  swinging  of  a 
pendulum.  Time  is  beaten,  one,  two,  three,  four,  one, 
two,  three,  four — smoothly  and  accurately,  with  the 
intervals  strictly  regular. 

Checks  and  bits  have  a  good  deal  to  do  with  balanc- 
ing the  horse,  and  the  less  restraint  or  annoyance  these 
appliances  give  the  horse  the  better.  I  like  plain  bits. 
If  you  cannot  control  a  horse  with  a  plain  bit,  you 
have  a  small  chance  of  making  a  trotter  of  him  at  all. 
Such  bits  as  the  "  Perfection,"  **  Rockwell,"  etc.,  I  con- 
sider pernicious  contrivances.  There  are  cases  where 
a  horse  has  improved  with  a  severe  bit,  but  they  are 
exceptional.  With  what  extreme  measures  have 
achieved  I  do  not  quarrel,  but  I  do  argue  against  using 
artificial  and  unusual  appliances  unnecessarily,  and  this 
apphes  not  only  to  bits,  checks,  shoes,  weights,  etc., 
but  to  every  thing  connected  with  training. 


TKAINING   THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 

John  Splan,  in  his  work,  "  Life  with  the  Trotters," 
has,  among  many  good  things,  these  remarks,  which 
are  well  worth  quoting : 

"  My  experience  has  been  that  no  horse  can  be  suc- 
cessfully driven  with  anything  like  a  severe  bit.  I 
never  saw  one  that  was  broken  of  the  habit  of  pulling 
in  that  way.  If  you  put  a  severe  bit  in  the  horse's 
mouth  and  pull  on  it,  it  makes  him  mad  and  irritates 
him ;  the  further  you  drive  him  and  the  harder  3^ou 
pull,  the  more  he  will  pull  against  you.  When  I  was  a 
boy  almost  everj^  trotter  I  saw  would  pull  in  a  disa- 
greeable manner  when  being  driven  at  top  speed.  At 
the  present  time  I  cannot  think  of  one  horse  that  is 
anything  like  first-class,  that  pulls  enough  to  make  it 
disagreeable  for  a  man  at  any  time.  .  .  .  There 
are  a  great  many  horses  that  will  not  take  kindly  to 
an  over-check,  and  if  3^ou  msist  on  using  it  on  them  it 
will  sooner  or  later  spoil  the  horse's  disposition  to  a 
great  extent.  The  plainest  case  of  the  kind  that  ever 
came  into  my  hands  was  Fanny  Witherspoon.  She 
had  been  trained  for  a  number  of  years,  and  always 
with  an  over-check.  I  trained  her  myself  for  over  a 
year  in  the  same  manner,  but  with  very  little  satisfac- 
tion, as  she  seemed  to  continually  have  some  trouble 
with  her  mouth.  In  talking  the  matter  over  with  my 
friend  Hickok  he  advised  that  I  try  her  with  a  check 
bit,  side-check,  and  nose-band  attachment.  I  did  so, 
and  in  the  shortest  time  imaginable  the  mare  showed  a 
very  marked  improvement  in  her  driving." 

When  a  horse  seems  to  be  irritated  and  fights  the 
bit  or  check,  he  cannot  improve.  It  may  take  some 
experimenting  to  find  out  what  will  suit  him,  but  the 


DON  T  TRY  TO  BEAT  THE  WATCH.  2S3 

quicker  he  is  suited  the  better.  ^Vhy  some  horses  like 
an  over-check  and  some  a  side-check,  and  why  certain 
bits  must  be  used  on  certain  horses,  it  is  often  hard  to 
explain  ;  but  the  one  fact  confronting  the  trainer  is 
that  the  mouth  must  be  kept  right  and  the  head  rigged 
with  check  and  bit  which  the  horse  will  not  resent 
and  fight,  if  satisfactory  results  are  to  be  accomplished. 

The  quotation  from  Splan,  with  Avhich  I  wholly 
agree,  reminds  me  of  another  remark  in  his  book,  from 
which  I  must  dissent.  That  is  where,  in  speaking  of 
condition,  he  states  that  if  you  get  a  horse  in  condition 
he  will  have  his  speed.  That  is  all  right  if  you  have  a 
trotter  already  made  when  you  get  him,  but  it  does 
not  hold  in  educating  horses  to  trot.  You  can  put  a 
horse  that  has  not  ])een  taught  to  trot  fast  in  perfect 
condition,  but  condition  and  speed  are  not  the  same 
thing,  though  each  is  essential  to  a  great  performance. 
You  must  get  the  speed  before  condition  can  carry  you 
^to  the  wire  in  2:20. 

It  is  well  to  learn  to  drive  by  the  watch,  provided 
you  don't  try  to  beat  it.  It  improves  a  man's  judg- 
ment of  pace,  and  hence  teaches  him  to  rate  more 
evenly.  The  only  danger  is  that  the  driver  will  test 
the  horse's  speed  too  often  by  the  watch.  Let  it  be 
your  guide,  but  not  a  competitor  with  your  horse.  I 
consider  it  indeed  essential  to  good  and  exact  training 
that  the  driver  practice  rating  by  the  watch,  for  he 
will  not  only  learn  to  rate  better  himself,  but  the  horse 
will  learn  to  trot  evenly  at  almost  any  rate  of  speed 
desired  within  his  limits. 

With  these  general  remarks,  we  may  proceed  to 
consider  the  colt's  preparation  for  a  race,  presuming 


284  TRAINING    THE   TROTTING    HORSE. 

that  he  has  shown  speed  enough  in  his  brushes  to 
justify  the  behef  that  he  will  do  himself  credit  in 
public. 

The  question  is,  how  fast  is  it  necessary  for  him  to 
go  to  win  ?  At  Palo  Alto  we  do  not  think  we  have 
very  much  to  "bank  on"  unless  the  colt  can  show  us 
quarters  in  thirty-three  to  thirty-four  seconds,  but  a 
man  need  not  be  discouraged  because  his  three-year- 
old  cannot  quite  do  that.  To  illustrate  our  method  of 
preparation  for  races,  however,  we  will  sup])ose  the 
colt  can  show  a  quarter  in  thirty-four  or  thirty-five 
seconds,  that  he  is  going  level  and  right,  and  that  he 
has  his  engagement  to  meet  in  three  weeks  from  Mon- 
da3^  Sunday  with  me  is  always  a  day  of  rest,  for 
horses  and  men.  Even  if  I  race  on  Monday,  Sunday 
is  the  same,  and  I  have  found  it  good  policy  to  keep 
it  in  this  way,  not  to  speak  of  moral  obligations. 

Monday,  after  the  usual  morning  programme,  we 
will  jog  him  from  five  to  eight  miles,  according  to  age 
(usually  not  over  five  in  the  case  of  a  two  or  a  three- 
year-old),  on  the  track  or  road.  A  jog  on  a  good  road 
is  very  beneficial,  as  it  breaks  the  monotony  of  track- 
work,  and  is  in  a  measure  interesting  to  the  colt. 
Tuesday,  at  the  accustomed  time,  jog  him  say  about 
three  miles — just  enough  to  have  him  empty  himself 
and  get  warmed  ready  for  work — and  then  put  on  his 
quarter-boots  and  give  him  three  or  four  brushes  of 
about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  each,  finishing  all  strongs 
and  the  last  one  about  up  to  his  limit.  The  next  day, 
"Wednesday,  we  will  jog  about  three  miles  again,  the 
jogging  always  being  merely  for  the  purposes  named, 
and  after  scoring  a  few  times  give  him  a  mile  in  about 


DETAILS    OF    WORK.  285 

2:37.  We  are  now,  it  must  be  remembered,  in  pre- 
scribing this  work,  supposing  that  the  horse  under 
preparation  can  speed  a  2:20  gait;  but  at  whatever 
rate  he  can  go  the  reader  will  see  that  we  approach 
his  limit  slowly  and  cautiously.  This  mile  in  2:37  or 
2:38  will  be  easy  for  him,  but  he  should  be  asked  to 
come  the  last  quarter  fast.  Now,  after  unharnessing 
and  a  light  rub-out,  put  on  a  blanket,  remove  hi's 
boots,  hand  rub  his  legs,  and  then  walk  him  in  a  sheet 
for  say  twenty  minutes.  Then  put  him  in  the  sulky 
again,  score  up  four  or  five  times  until  he  is  good  and 
ready  to  "go,"  and  send  him  a  mile  in  say  2:33  to  2:35, 
finishing  strong  as  before.  Then  properly  care  for 
him  as  already  described  in  a  previous  chapter.  The 
body  wash  there  given  is  very  good,  and  I  have  also 
found  a  lotion  of  arnica,  rum  and  water  to  be  excel- 
lent for  the  muscles  after  work.  There  are  dozens  of 
preparations  for  this  purpose  perhaps  equally  as  good 
as  the  two  I  have  given,  and  important  ingredients  in 
most  of  them  are  witch-hazel  and  arnica,  which  are 
always  beneficial  on  strained  or  work-sore  muscles. 

On  Thursday  our  horse  will  only  require  a  light  jog 
for  exercise,  neither  far  enough  or  fast  enough  to  tire 
him  in  the  least.  On  Friday,  after  the  usual  warming 
"P  j«g.  gi^^e  him  three  or  four  quarters— one  fas't 
enough  to  keep  his  speed  at  an  edge.  On  Saturday  we 
will  jog  him  smartly  for  two  miles,  say,  and  then  work 
him  four  miles  at  regular  intervals—that  is,  at  inter- 
vals of  twenty  to  twenty-five  minutes.  The  fii'st  mile 
should  be  in  about  2:38  or  2:40,  the  second  in  2:30  to 
2:32,  the  third  say  in  2:26  to  2:28,  and  the  fourth  in 
2:23  to  2:25— always  finishing  fast  and  strong. 


286  TRAINING    THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 

Repeat  this  programme  the  following  week,  and  up 
till  Wednesday  of  the  week  before  the  race.  That  day 
he  will  be  worked  out  a  couple  of  miles,  on  Thursday 
will  get  a  light  jog,  and  on  Friday  three  or  four  fast 
quarters — and  be  sure  he  has  his  speed.  If  he  has,  and 
is  well,  you  are  ready  for  the  fray  on  Monday.  The 
object  of  the  course  of  work  he  has  been  given  is  to 
condition  him  to  carry  his  speed  full  miles  and  yet  not 
to  dull  any  more  than  possible  the  line  edge  of  the 
speed  we  worked  up  to  in  our  brushes.  I  have  found 
that  after  a  horse  loses  part  of  his  speed  it  comes  back 
slowly.  He  should  not  have  work  enough  to  dull  his- 
speed,  drill  him  down,  or  take  the  vim  out  of  him. 
Keep  him  feeling  good.  A  horse  never  gets  track-sick 
until  he  is  abused — overwork  is  abuse,  though  it  may 
not  be  intentional  abuse — and  as  soon  as  he  shows 
track-weariness,  and  loses  the  ability  and  the  desire  to 
brush  as  fast  and  strong  as  ever,  the  note  of  warning  I 
have  already  sounded  so  frequently  is  in  order  again : 
Ease  up,  for  you  are  overdoing  it. 

The  preparation,  like  every  other  detail  in  the  train- 
ing, needs,  I  need  not  say,  discriminating  judgment. 
No  rule  can  be  laid  down  to  suit  ever}^  horse.  The 
above  course  is  not  meant  as  a  rule  always  to  be  strictly 
followed.  It  simply  outlines  the  general  plan  on  which 
we  prepare  our  horses.  At  every  stage  of  training 
and  preparation  the  trainers  judgment  must  come  to 
his  aid,  and  guide  him  as  to  what  to  do,  how  far  to  go, 
and  when  and  how  to  do  it.  Just  as  horses  differ  so 
must  the  application  of  a  system  be  elastic. 

Few  trainers  do  much  jogging,  leaving  that  to  the 
boys ;  but  I  will  say  that  I  would  always  rather  do  my 


WORK    THE    HORSE    YOURSELF.  287 

own  jogging,  and  always  do  it  with  horses  that  I  am 
especially  preparing  for  important  performances.  It 
ma\^  seem  a  very  simple  matter,  but  it  is  one  of  great 
importance.  Mouth,  gait,  temper,  are  all  directly 
involved.  To  turn  out  a  masterpiece  of  work  in  train- 
ing the  one  hand  should  do  all  the  driving.  You  can 
be  sure  the  horse  feels  the  difference.  This  preliminary 
work  should  be  done  smoothly  and  steadily,  and  at  a 
smart,  lively  jog.  Attention  to  details  is  the  great 
thing  in  training  as  in  all  other  branches  of  human 
endeavor.  The  man  who  gets  in  the  sulky  when  the 
horse  is  ready  to  work,  drives  him  his  mile  and  repeat, 
and  leaves  all  the  rest  to  the  rubbers  to  do,  if  they 
will  and  how  they  will,  may  have  an  easy  and  pleasant 
time  in  this  life,  but  he  won't  break  many  records. 


288  TRAINING   THE   TROTTING   HORSE. 


CHAPTEK  XXYI. 

THE    MORNING     OF    THE     RACE PRELIMINARIES — STARTING 

AND    SCORING GOING     FOR     THE     HEAT WHAT    TO   DO 

BETWEEN   HEATS — COOLING     OUT WHAT   TO  DO  IF   THE 

HORSE  DOES  NOT  COOL  OUT  PROPERLY,  AND  IS  DIS- 
TRESSED— STIMULANTS FEEDING     IN     A     RACE HAYF 

EVERY     THING     READY    BEFOREHAND MUD     SHOES  — 

ATTEND  TO  BUSINESS,  AND  AVOID  TRICKS — LAYING  UP 
HEATS DRIVING  REQUIRES  NATURAL  FITNESS — JUDG- 
MENT OF  PACE THE  STEADY  HORSE  HAS  THE  ADVAN- 
TAGE  THE    EXIGENCIES    OF    A    HEAT KEEP  COOL,  AND 

STAY  WITH    YOUR  HORSES. 

The  night  before  the  race  and  the  morning  of  race- 
day  give  the  horse  his  usual  feed.  After  breakfast  jog 
him  three  or  four  miles.  After  coming  in  from  the  jog 
give  him  a  little  water  and  a  light  feed  of  hay  that  he 
will  eat  up  clean.  I  do  not  like  muzzles,  as  I  have 
said,  but  if  you  have  a  "gormandizer''  you  can  now 
muzzle  for  a  little  while,  and  leave  him  alone  to  rest. 
If  he  is  a  ^ntlemanly  and  dainty  horse,  that  is  above 
chewing  his  bedding,  the  muzzle  is  not,  of  course,  neces- 
sary. About  eleven  o'clock  give  him  his  usual  dinner, 
and  about  one  you  can  take  him  out  and  jog  a  couple  of 
miles ;  then  drive  him  a  good  strong  mile,  at  some 
point  opening  him  right  up,  to  see  that  he  has  his 
speed.  By  the  time  you  have  cooled  him  out  the  hour 
for  the  race  will  have  arrived,  and  if  it  is  your  first 


RACE    DAY.  2S9 

race  the  clanging  of  the  judges^  bell  will  probablv 
strike  you  with  a  thrill.  But  keep  cool,  and  go  about 
it  just  as  if  YOU  were  going  to  work  out  your  horse. 
Take  him  out  and  jog  him  until  warm,  score  or  brush 
sharp  once  or  twice,  and  go  to  the  stand,  weigh  in  and 
get  your  position.  Xow  the  field  goes  down  to  score, 
and  it  is  always  well  to  co-operate  with  the  starter  and 
endeaYor  to  prcYent  delay.  There  is  no  other  thing 
connected  with  the  trotting-turf,  barring  the  ''jobs,^' 
that  does  so  much  to  render  it  unpopular  as  the  tedious 
delay  and  repeated  scoring  that  is  so  common.  So  do 
not  be  an  obstructionist  on  the  score. 

Xow  we  are  ready,  and  as  we  are  not  working  the 
pool-box,  but  haYe  our  hearts  set  on  winning  the  race, 
we  will  attend  to  that  business  from  the  word  "  go.'' 
I  haYe  had  horses  (and  among  them  Palo  Alto  in  his 
four-year  old  form)  that  required  a  heat  in  company 
before  they  were  ready  to  go  after  the  moncY,   but 
they  are  the  exception.     In  the  heat  do  the  best  you 
can  to  get  to  the  front,  and  if  the  horse  can  win  it 
within  himself  don't  pump  him  ovt  any  more  than  is 
necessary  to   safely  win,  and   lea«^e   the   artistic    but 
somewhat  deceptiYe  pastime  of  drlYing  head  and  head 
finishes,  when  you  can  as  well  win  by  a  length  or  so, 
to  other  smart  gentlemen.     After  the  heat  "take  Your 
horse  to  the  stall,  or  better  yet,  if  the  air  is  balmv  and 
dry,  under  the  shade  of  a  tree ;  take  off  his  harness 
and  boots,  scrape  him  easily  and  quickly,  lightly  rub  a 
little  of  the  water  off  him,  and  then  throw  on'^a  light 
blanket  and  walk  him.     GiYe  him  a  swallow  of  waler 
occasionally,  but  not  much  or  not  too  often,  ^nd  after 
lie  has  walked  a  while  if  he  will  scrape,  scrape  him  out 


290  TRAINING    THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 

a  little.  Then  apply  one  of  the  body  washes  I  have 
recommended  over  the  loins  and  back  and  the  muscles 
of  the  shoulders  and  forearms,  as  well  as  those  running 
down  under  the  flank,  ^ow  walk  him  again  in  the 
blanket,  and  by  this  time  he  ought  to  be  thoroughly 
bio  wed  out  and  ready  for  another  heat.  If  he  has, 
however,  failed  to  scrape  well,  and  seems  unduly  dis- 
tressed after  the  heat,  sponge  him  over  with  tepid 
water.  In  some  cases  I  have  seen  cold  water  do  just 
as  well.     This  will  almost  certainly  relieve  him. 

Another  very  good  application  I  have  found  with 
horses  that  showed  distress  is  w^arm  water  and  Med- 
ford  rum,  with  a  little  salt  added,  applied  all  over  the 
muscles.  Sometimes  a  horse  will  get  all  "  corded  up  " 
in  the  muscles,  and  seem  to  be  in  a  measure  paralyzed. 
Hot  applications  are  the  surest  relief.  Splan  recom- 
mends blankets  wrung  out  of  w^arm  water,  and  laid 
across  his  back  and  shoulders.  I  consider  this  treat- 
ment good. 

As  to  internal  stimulants,  I  do  not  believe  in  them 
as  a  rule.  In  the  case  of  a  very  tired,  or  apparently 
beaten  horse,  they  may  be  used  to  advantage  occasion- 
ally. Brand}^  and  whisky  are  the  most  commonly 
used,  and  one  is  probably  as  good  as  another. 

The  treatment  above  described  should  be  repeated 
after  each  heat,  and  if  all  goes  well  the  horse  should  be 
none  the  Avorse  for  the  race.  After  the  race  is  over  take 
him  to  his  stable,  and  do  him  up  in  much  the  way  I 
have  recommended  that  he  be  treated  after  work,  with 
perhaps  a  little  more  attention  and  care.  The  day  fol- 
lowing tbe  race  he  waU  not  require  any  exercise  beyond 
a  walk  in  the  morning  and  evening.     Kest  is  what  he 


BETWEEN    HEATS.  291 

most  requires,  and  if  he  has  had  a  hard  race  take  off 
his  shoes  for  a  day  or  two,  walk  him  in  the  dew,  give 
him  a  little  grass,  and  in  general  treat  him  so  that*  he 
will  be  thoroughly  rested  and  refreshed.  Then  resume 
work  as  before,  at  fast  brushes,  to  improve  his  speed, 
and  gauge  your  work  at  distances  by  your  engage- 
ments. 

Between   heats   feed  your   horse.     Jack  Feek  says 
that  he  finds  nothing  better  after  a  horse  has  gone  two 
or  three  hard  heats  than  a  quart  or  two  of  good,  clean 
oats,  and   I  am  inclined  to  agree  with  him.     I  have 
found  oatmeal  gruel  excellent,  though  some  horses  will 
not  eat  it.     As  a  rule,  however,  you  can  get  your  horse 
accustomed  to  it;  and  in  that  -case  you  should  have  it 
ready  before  the  race.     He  will  not  require  it  at  first, 
but  after  the  second  or  third  heats  give  him  a  little. 
It  is  a  mistaken  idea  to  suppose  that  a  hungrv  horse 
can  trot  and  last  through  a  hard  race.     Certainly  he 
cannot  trot  on  a  full  stomach,  but  he  must  have  suffi- 
cient nourishment  to  keep  him  strong.     If  you  have 
ever  felt  the  weak  and  "gone"  feeling  of  trying  to 
work  on  a   thoroughly  empty  stomach,  when  hunger 
gnawed,  and  the  body  was  tired,  you  will  not  ask  a 
horse  to  trot  a  long  race  without  moderate  tastes  of 
food  and  water. 

Preparation  is  half  the  battle  in  every  thing.  You 
should  go  to  the  races  prepared.  See  that  not  only 
your  horse  is  right  and  ready,  but  that  everv  thing, 
harness,  boots,  shoes,  sulky,  rubbers,  and  all  other 
belongings,  are  ready  to  answer  the  rec^uirements  of  a 
contest  that  may  be  lost  through  some  little  thing 
being   overlooked.     Have  a  kit  of  tools  with  you  in 


292  TRAINING  THE  TROTTING  HORSE. 

case  the  horse  throws  a  shoe,  and  have  mud  shoes  in 
case  you  ma}^  have  to  trot  the  race  over  a  muddy 
track.  For  mud-trotting  I  use  a  convex  shoe  with  a 
toe  and  heel  calk.  The  shoes  should  be  fitted  to  the 
foot  and  all  ready  to  nail  on  in  case  they  are  re- 
quired. 

Make  it  a  rule  to  have  every  thing  ready,  and  be 
ready  yourself,  not  only  for  the  day  of  the  race,  but  for 
the  call  of  every  heat.  It  is  policy  to  get  out  promptly, 
and  act  in  such  a  manner  that  the  judges  and  the 
people  may  see  that  you  wish  to  trot  tiie  race  promptly, 
squarely,  and  win  it  if  you  can  without  trickery  or 
^'jockeying."  A  writer  tells  us  "how  to  talk  to  the 
judges."  I  would  sav,'^do  not  talk  to  them  at  all. 
Speak  when  you  are  spoken  to,  a,nd  don't  waste  your 
breath  and  show  3^our  lack  of  balance  by  saying 
"smart"  things,  making  unnecessar}^  complaints,  ad- 
vising the  judges,  etc.  If  you  are  compelled  to  make 
a  complaint,  make  it  in  courteous,  plain,  and  gentle- 
manly terms,  and  get  through  as  quickly  as  possible. 
In  the  midst  of  a  race  and  in  the  judges'  stand  is 
neither  the  time  nor  place  for  a  driver  to  deliver  a 
lecture.  If  he  must  talk  let  him  take  some  more  ap^ 
propriate  time.  It  is  a  good  deal  more  difficult  to 
know  how  not  to  talk  to  the  judges  than  it  is  to  talk 
to  them.  I  have  occasionally  come  in  for  pretty 
"  bad  deals"  at  the  hands  of  starters  and  judges,  but  I 
generally  found  the  old  rule  to  apply  :  "  The  least  said, 
the  soonest  mended." 

On  the  subject  of  laying  up  heats  I  may  state  it  is 
seldom  necessary,  and  should  never  be  done  unless  you 
are  sure  it  will  materially  better  your  chances  of  win- 


LAYING    UP    HEATS.  293 

ning  the  race,  and  you  will  not  find  this  to  be  the  case 
so  often  as  some  seem  to  think.  Sometimes  a  horse, 
as  I  have  remarked,  will  not  do  himself  justice  until 
he  trots  a  heat  or  two  in  company,  and  in  that  case 
the  practice  is  justifiable.  Again,  if  you  believe  that 
one  or  two  horses  in  the  field  may  have  more  speed 
than  you  have,  it  will  sometimes  prove  good  policy  to 
let  them  go  out  and  fight  one  another  for  a  heat  or 
two,  after  which  you  can  go  at  them  with  an  advan- 
tage. But  these  are  exceptional  cases.  To  have 
every  thing  to  my  liking,  I  want  the  horse  ready  to  go 
right  out  for  the  mone3\  In  general,  if  you  can  win 
at  all  you  can  win  in  straight  heats ;  and  that  is  the 
clean,  straightforward  way  to  do  it,  if  possible,  besides 
being  very  much  better  for  your  horse.  In  four  cases 
out  of  five  when  heats  are  laid  up  they  are  laid  up 
with  reference  to  the  pool  box.  The  motive  is  gen- 
erally not  to  make  surer  of  winning  the  race,  but  to 
influence  the  betting,  and  this  very  thing  has  in  a 
measure  tended  to  disgust  the  public  with  trotting. 
On  the  question  of  betting  I  need  not  speak.  That 
has  nothing  to  do  with  training.  If  a  man  wants  to 
bet  on  a  horse-race  and  bets  his  own  money,  I  cannot 
see  that  he  does  anything  wrong.  Xo  moral  or  civil 
law  is  offended.  But  the  trouble  is  that  too  many 
make  winning  the  race  a  secondary  consideration  to 
winning  in  the  pool-box,  and  therein  is  a  great  wrong. 
The  first  duty  of  a  driver  in  a  race  is  to  win  if  he  can, 
and  the  man  who  goes  out  with  the  idea  of  laying  up 
heats  and  working  the  pool-box  uppermost  in  his  mind, 
and  making  the  matter  of  winning  races  subordinate 
considerations,  is  simply  betraying,  deceiving  and  rob- 


294  TRAINING    THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 

bing  his  employer.  I  am  for  honesty  in  the  sulky, 
first,  last,  and  all  the  time. 

If  you  are  confronted  with  the  possible  situations 
which  I  have  indicated,  or  throw  a  shoe,  or  meet  with 
other  mishap,  w^here  it  is  necessary  to  lay  up  one  or 
more  heats,  do  it  right.  If  you  drop  so  far  back  in  the 
first  quarter  or  half  that  you  will  have  to  drive  fast  in 
the  last  half  to  save  your  distance,  you  have  not  gained 
anything.  Get  away  w^ell  with  the  field  and  drop 
back  gradually,  say  about  twenty  yards  in  each  quar- 
ter, so  that  you  will  land  safely  inside  the  distance  flag 
after  going  an  eas}^,  evenly  rated  mile  well  within  your 
horse's  capacity  at  every  stride.  I  have  seen  very 
clever  "generalship"  result  in  laying  up  heats  so 
neatly  that  the  flag  fell  in  front  in  place  of  behind  the 
horse,  and  that  is,  I  should  judge,  rather  annoying. 
Sometimes  "generalship"  and  "jockey ship"  may  win 
the  race,  but  I  advise  the  3^oung  trainer  to  trust  neither 
to  his  own  "smartness"  nor  to  "luck,"  but  rather  to 
the  speed  and  condition  of  his  horse.  That  is  w^hat 
wins  races. 

Drivers  are  born,  not  made,  and  it  is  impossible  to 
teach  a  man  so  that  he  can  get  up  behind  a  horse  and 
drive  him  well  unless  he  has  the  natural  gift ;  and  only 
this,  with  experience,  makes  a  good  driver.  You  want 
a  steady,  firm  hand,  and  yet  a  light  one.  You  want  a 
firm  hand,  but  not  a  rigid,  unyielding  one,  for  a  certain 
ease  is  necessary  to  give  the  horse  confidence.  If  the 
driver  be  nervous  and  unsteady  the  horse  will  soon 
know  it,  and  his  steadiness  will  be  affected  by  it. 
ISTever  take  more  hold  on  the  horse  than  is  necessary 
to  give   him  confidence  and  to  hold  him  steady  and 


RACE-DRAWING.  295 

safe.  A  good  driver  must  be  a  crood  judge  of  pace  and 
of  distance,  cool-headed,  with  presence  of  mind,  and 
able  to  take  in  a  situation  at  a  glance  and  act  upon  it 
instantly.  He  must  be  ready  to  see  an  advantage  the 
moment  it  presents  itself,  and  seize  it  the  moment  he 
sees  it.  All  this,  as  I  have  said,  cannot  be  learned — 
there  are  certain  qualities  of  the  brain  and  the  hand 
that  must  in  a  degree  be  natural  to  the  man,  though 
they  may  be  perfected  by  acquirement.  A  driver  may 
be  good  when  going  at  a  2:40  gait,  but  the  same  man 
may  be  all  at  sea  when  going  at  a  2:16  gait.  The  dif- 
ference in  results  that  will  follow  a  move  at  a  2:40  gait 
and  that  which  may  follow  a  move  at  a  2:20  gait  is 
marvelous. 

Judgment  of  pace  is  very  essential  in  a  good  driver  ; 
without  that  he  is  always  liable  to  misjudge  what  he 

•  is  really  doing.  He  may  go  a  quarter  or  a  half  at  a 
terrific  gait,  and  thus  take  more  out  of  his  horse  in 
going  a  moderate  mile  than  another  driver  would  take 
out  of  him  in  going  a  fast  mile  by  even  rating.  I 
teach  my  horses  to  rate  evenly— that  is,  to  have  them 
carry  any  desired  rate  of  speed  steadily.  Driving 
with  the  watch  will,  as  I  have  said,  improve  judgment 
of  pace,  but  so  many  drivers  indulge  in  trying  to  beat 
the  watch  that  I  am  diffident  about  recommending  it. 
However,  if  a  man  uses  it  with  discretion,  and  by  its 
help  accustoms  himself  to  gauge  the  pace  he  goes, 
and  to  rate  evenly,  it  is  an  invaluable  aid.  Moving  in 
a  jerky,  spasmodic  manner— making  a  sudden  rush 
here,  and  easing  up  there— is  bad  policy.  Many  a 
horse  is  thus  beaten  in  slower  time  than  he  is  capable 

of  trotting  if  properly  rated. 


296  TRAINING    THE   TROTTING    HORSE. 

I  consider  John  Splan  one  of  the  best  judges  of  pace 
we  have  on  the  turf.  As  an  illustration  of  this,  I  may 
recall  the  performance  years  ago  at  Chico,  California, 
between  Rarus  and  Goldsmith  Maid.  Splan  and  his 
friends  had  bet  that  2:17  would  be  beaten,  but  the  first 
heat  the  mare  seemed  tied  up  and  only  finished  the 
mile  in  2:19^,  Budd  Doble  declaring  that  she  was 
"  wobbling  all  the  time."  After  the  next  heat  Doble 
repeated  this,  when  Splan  said,  "She  has  wobbled  as 
good  a  mile  as  ever  she  did  in  her  life,"  and  when  the 
time,  2:14|^,  was  hung  out,  it  showed  that  he  judged 
the  pace  they  trotted  well. 

In  speaking  of  training  the  colt  I  have  warned  the 
reader  against  the  fallacy  of  "teaching  him  to  break 
and  catch,"  and  I  can  only  repeat  here  that  what  you 
want  to  do  is  to  teach  the  horse  to  trot  without  break- 
ing. A  steady  horse,  other  things  being  equal,  will 
wear  down  the  horse  that  "  breaks  and  catches " 
several  times  in  a  mile.  Sometimes  a  horse  seeks  re- 
lief in  a  break,  but  as  to  the  ultimate  benefit  of  "  rest- 
ing breaks  "  I  am  skeptical.  During  the  war  I  was  in 
the  cavalry  service,  and  an  old  frontiersman  taught  me 
if  I  had  to  ride  all  day  the  least  tiresome  way  w^as  to 
sit  still  in  the  saddle.  I  could  ride  twenty  hours  in 
one  position,  while  a  companion,  shifting  positions  and 
trying  to  rest  himself,  would  thoroughly  tire.  So  I 
think  the  steady  horse  makes  the  mile  with  greater 
ease  than  the  one  that  engages  in  the  rather  violent 
exercise  of  "  breaking  and  catching."  A  driver  of 
judgment  and  experience  will  soon  learn  to  detect  the 
signs  of  a  coming  break  by  \vatching  the  horse's  head, 
and  there  is  the  direction  to  keep  your  eyes  in.     It  is 


STEADINESS.  297 


far  better  to  anticipate  the  break,  and  by  steadying 
him  prevent  it,  than  to  let  him  breal^  and  then  catch 
him.  But  I  have  known  drivers  of  long  experience 
that  never  seemed  to  have  learned  this. 

There  are  hardly  ever  two  heats  trotted  alike,  and  it 
is  vain  to  endeavor  to  direct  how  to  meet  the  thousand 
different  positions  and  contingencies  that  will  confront 
you.  Your  native  "generalship"  and  intuition,  your 
natural  quickness  to  perceive  how  to  take  advantage 
of  your  position,  and  how  to  work  into  a  good  position, 
must  be  your  guide.  I  have  often  found  that  a  man  in 
second  position  can  hold  his  place  without  much  loss  of 
ground,  but  there  is  no  place  quite  so  comfortable  as 
showing  the  way  and  rating  to  suit  yourself.  I  need 
not  say  that  the  way  to  "get  there"  is  to  go  straight 
and  steady,  and  that*  seesawing  in  and  out  is  the  best 
way  of  getting  very  little  good  out  of  a  great  deal  of 
hard  work.  However,  just  how  to  act  and  manage  in 
the  exigencies  of  a  heat  can  only  be  learned  by  actual 
experience.  In  short,  in  starting  keep  your  proper 
position,  and  try  and  get  away  well ;  in  the  heat  attend 
to  "getting  there"  with  a  little  to  spare  for  the  finish  : 
between  heats  attend  the  horse  right,  and  at  all  times 
Iceep  cool. 

I  make  it  a  rule  when  out  racing  to  stay  always  at 
the  track  with  my  horses,  and  am  the  last  man  to  see 
them  at  night  and  the  first  to  see  tliem  in  the  morning. 
It  has,  besides  being  a  proper  precaution  and  an  assur- 
ance that  nothing  is  neglected,  a  good  effect  on  the 
stable-men.  The  driver  who  goes  out  on  a  campaign 
^  not  on  a  pleasure  excursion,  if  he  attends  i)roperly  to 
business,  and  I  recommend  to  all  young  trainers  the  rule 
I  have  followed  with  regard  to  staying  with  the  horses. 


298  TRAINING    THE   TROTTING    HORSE. 


CHAPTEK   XXYII. 

COMMON  INJURIES  AND  AILMENTS  AND  THEIR  TREATMENT — . 
HORSES  THAT  TROTTED  AFTER  BREAKING  DOWN TREAT- 
ING    FILLED     LEGS IODINE A     FAYORITE      REMEDY 

CURBS CRACKED       HEELS DISTEMPER THRUSH 

QUARTER  CRACK TENDER  FEET THE  LOCKIEPAD  SHOE 

SPLINTS — SPRUNG  TENDONS A  GENERAL  CAUTION. 

It  is  the  practice  in  almost  all  horse-books  to  add 
what  I  may  call  a  Veterinary  Department,  and  if  these 
departments  that  find  a  place  in  so  man}^  works  really 
taught  what  they  are  supposed  to  teach,  there  would 
no  longer  be  any  use  for  veterinary  surgeons,  for  every 
one  would  know  how  to  cure  every  equine  ailment 
without  professional  aid.  Kow,  I  have  no  intention  of 
following  the  usual  example,  or  encroaching  on  the 
sacred  soil  of  veterinary  science,  but  there  are  certain 
ailments  and  injuries  to  which  horses  in  training  are 
peculiarly  liable,  and  with  which  every  trainer  must 
himself  cope,  and  with  the  treatment  of  a  few  of  these 
I  propose  briefly  to  deal.  AYith  all  due  respect  to  the 
professional  veterinarians,  there  are  some  troubles  for 
the  cure  of  which  I  would  rather  trust  to  the  treat- 
ment of  an  experienced  and  competent  trainer  than 
to  that  of  the  averag-e  veterinarv  suro^eon.  The  reason 
is,  that  the  trainer  is  almost  constantly  treating  and 
caring  for  the  mishaps  and  ailments  peculiar  to  train- 


INJUKIES.  299 

ing,  while  with  the  veterinary  surgeon  these  forms  of 
injury  or  disease  are  only  occasionally  met,  and  he  has 
no  reason  to  specially  study  them  any  more  than  any 
other  one  of  the  thousand  ills  that  equine  flesh  is 
heir  to. 

Many  horses  have  trotted  creditable  races  and  fallen 
fast  records  when  practically  broken  down.  Smuggler 
''had  a  leg"  all  through  his  great  campaign  of  1876. 
It  was  an  enlarged  or  "filled"  foreleg,  and  he  was 
lame  of  it  the  greater  part  of  the  time.  People  said 
that  every  race  would  be  his  last,  and  it  would  not 
have  greatly  surprised  me  to  have  seen  him  break  down 
entirely  after  any  fast  heat.  His  campaign  must  be 
esteemed  all  the  greater  on  that  account.  Other  horses 
have  done  great  things  for  me  after  they  had  gone 
wrong.  We  supposed  Palo  Alto  to  have  been  broken 
down  after  his  four-year-old  campaign,  and  it  was  with 
"fear  and  trembling"  that  we  endeavored  to  train  him 
last  spring.  But  he  stood  up  through  great  races,  and 
went  a  mile  in  2:1 2 J,  faster  than  any  stallion  ever 
trotted  previous  to  1889.  Sallie  Benton  had  a  strained 
suspensory  ligament  when  she  made  her  record  of 
2:1 7f.  Fred  Crocker  had  a  bad  tendon  when  he  low- 
ered the  two-year  old  record  to  2:25J.  Elaine  gave 
way  in  one  of  the  rear  flexor  tendons,  and  trotted  her 
races  with  the  tendon  supjxjrted  by  a  rubber  bandage 
about  four  inches  wide  and  five  feet  long,  wrapped 
about  the  leg,  and  fastened  with  a  rubber  strap. 
Bonita,  too,  was  a  virtually  broken  down  mare  before 
she  was  retired,  and  Occident's  traveling  gear  was 
"out  of  fix"  before  I  ever  trotted  him.  I  only  cite 
these  cases  to  show  what  patient  patching-up  and  care 


300  TRAINING   THE   TROTTING    HORSE. 

may  accomplish,  and  I  could  add  to  the  list  many  less 
noted  cases. 

There  is  usually  no  warning  of  a  break-down.  The 
first  thing  you  know  some  morning  you  will  find  a  leg 
filled,  tender  to  the  touch,  feverish,  and  painful  when 
the  horse  walks.  The  first  thing  is  to  get  the  fever 
out.  This  we  usualh^  accomplish  by  hot  fomentations. 
For  fevered  legs  I  have  found  this  lotion  very  good : 

Acetic  acid 1  gallon. 

Sal  ammonia 4  ounces. 

Tincture  asafetida 2  draclims. 

Mix :  Use  one  ounce  of  the  mixture  to  one  quart  of 
water,  or  witch-hazel — the  latter  preferred. 

A  bandage  wet  with  a  solution  of  sugar  of  lead  and 
laudanum  is  effective,  keeping  the  bandage  on  for  a 
reasonable  time  and  leaving  it  off  for  about  the  same 
time,  alternately. 

My  favorite  treatment  is,  after  the  fever  is  reduced, 
to  appl}^  iodine  freely.  The  iodine  will  cause  a  slight 
blister,  but  it  cannot  be  used  in  connection  with  show- 
ering the  leg — a  very  cooling  and  beneficial  treatment 
— or  with  bandages.  It  is  useless  to  attempt  to  work 
a  horse  while  there  is  any  swelling  or  fever  in  the  leg. 
It  is  ver}^  difficult  to  locate  trouble  in  the  tendon,  and 
nothing  can  be  done  until  the  inflammation  is  reduced, 
after  which  I  have  found  iodine  as  good  an  application 
as  Siny.  I  have  often  tried  firing  horses,  but  with  little 
success.     I  have  never  found  them  as  good  again. 

I  use  iodine  very  freely  in  training,  both  on  the  well 
and  the  ailing.  I  apply  it  lighth^  to  the  legs  of  colts,  and 
know  that  it  helps  to  keep  them  right.     For  this  pur- 


BREAK-DOWN.  301 

pose  you  must  not  apply  enough  to  cause  fever,  or  to 
blister,  for  that  will  defeat  your  object.  After  prop- 
erly applying  it,  in  time  a  little  scurf  may  appear,  but 
so  slight  that  a  few  days  let-up  and  a  wash  or  so  will 
clean  it  off.  I  have  been  told  that  iodine  will  dry  up 
the  natural  fluids  of  the  joints.  Long  experience  has 
failed  to  show  me  this.  AVhen  I  began  working  the 
geldmg  Clay,  I  found  him  knuckling  and  trembling  on 
all  his  legs.  I  iodined  him  so  heavily  for  three  years 
that  during  that  time  he  never  was  free  of  the  scurf 
raised  by  the  drug.  At  the  end  of  that  period  his 
ankles  were  clean,  sound  and  straight.  I  have  used  it 
for  twenty  years,  both  as  a  cure  and  as  a  preventative, 
and  have  never  found  it  to  injure  an  animal.  A  little 
practice  will  show  how  to  judiciously  apply  it.  Begin 
easy,  and  apply  it  without  much  rubbing,  and  be  care- 
ful not  to  use  enough,  or  rub  it  in  enough,  to  cause  the 
leg  to  become  feverish. 

When  a  horse  springs  a  curb  with  me  I  first  get  the 
inflammation  down  in  the  usual  way  and  then  iodine 
it  severely.  I  then  let  him  up  in  his  work,  but  jog  him 
to  keep  him  in  as  good  condition  as  possible.  I  have 
generally  found  curbs  to  yield  to  this  treatment.  A 
curb  is  the  least  objectionable  form  of  undsoundness. 
I  do  not  believe  that  what  we  usually  call  a  ''crooked" 
or  "curby-shaped"  hock  is  any  more  liable  to  develop 
actual  curbs  than  a  perfectly  straight  one.  At  least, 
in  my  experience  I  have  found  as  many  faultlessly 
shaped  hocks  to  throw  out  curbs  as  the  "crooked" 
ones.  Manzanita  has  an  elegantly  shaped  leg  and  per- 
fect hock,  but  she  threw  out  a  curb  as  a  two-year-old. 
I  treated  her  with  iodine,  kept  on  working  her,  gave 


302  TRAINING   THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 

her  a  two-year-old  trial  of  2:25,  and  cured  the  curb  into 
the  bargain. 

If  the  above  treatment  fails  to  have  the  desired 
effect,  the  next  resource  is  a  regular  blister.  I  have 
found  Gumbaldt's  Balsam  a  very  satisfactory  blister, 
and  have  also  had  good  results  from  a  mixture  of  lard 
and  red  iodide  of  mercury,  in  the  proportion  of  seven 
parts  of  lard  to  one  part  of  the  iodide  of  mercury.  In 
applying  a  liquid  blister  it  is  not  necessar}^  to  clip  the 
hair  or  grease  the  leg.  The  amount  of  rubbing  largely 
governs  the  degree  of  severeness  of  any  blister.  To 
apply  the  mercury  blister  I  clip  the  hair,  apply  the 
ointment,  rubbing  it  with  the  palm  of  the  hand  for 
about  five  minutes,  adding  more  in  the  meantime  as  the 
leo:  absorbs  it.  Then  I  let  it  take  its  course  until  the 
scab  comes  off,  and  grease  the  leg,  which  will  preserve 
the  color  of  the  hair.  Should  this  prove  ineffective, 
after  every  trace  of  the  first  blister  is  gone,  I  repeat 
the  same  treatment.  I  do  not  believe,  however,  in 
indiscriminate  blistering.  It  is  to  be  resorted  to  spar- 
inglv.  "Blister  and  turn  out"  is  a  very  common 
recipe,  and  often  a  successful  one — and  in  many  cases 
the  success  is  really  due  to  the  rest,  but  is  credited  to 
the  'blister. 

Cracked  heels  are  annoyances  that  every  trainer 
encounters.  The  causes  of  this  form  of  trouble  are 
various,  and  the  cures  are  as  numerous  as  the  causes. 
Sometimes  bandaging  may  cause  the  eruption; 
standing  in  a  damp  place  and  failing  to  properly 
dry  the  legs  after  being  washed  in  a  common  cause. 
That  cracked  heels  are  sometimes  traceable  to  bad  con- 
dition of  the  blood  is  also  true,  and  some  horses  seem 


CKACKED    HEELS.  303 

chronically  subject  to  the  trouble.  Whatever  the 
cause  may  be,  cracked  heels  seriously  interfere  with 
training.  The  heels  become  inflamed  and  tender  ;  the 
skin  cracks,  and  these  sometimes  exude  blood ;  and  in 
bad  cases  there  is  swelling  and  extreme  sensitiveness, 
especially  when  the  fetlock  joint  is  called  into  action. 
Of  course  the  horse  shortens  his  stride,  and  is  dainty 
with  the  legs  so  affected.  The  treatment  I  have  found 
most  efficacious  is  an  application  composed  of  equal 
parts  of  Goulard's  Exact,  glycerine,  and  olive  oil. 

The  parts  must  be  kept  clean  and  dry,  and,  as  much 
as  possible,  the  sweat  should  be  prevented  from  running 
down  over  them.  The  application  should,  after  wiping 
dry,  be  rubbed  in.  This  ointment  was  used  effectually 
on  Goldsmith  Maid,  and  I  have  found  it  good.  Citric 
ointment  is  also  sometimes  used,  and  a  mixture  of 
equal  parts  of  olive  oil  and  ether  is  good.  I  have  cured 
chronic  cases  with  this.  The  following  application  I 
have  also  found  good,  and  it  is  recommended  by  my 
friend  James  A.  Dustin,  of  track  renown : 

Lard |  poun-<. 

Sulphur 4  ounces. 

Cainplior , ^  ounce. 

Tannin 1  ounce. 

Goulard's  Extract ^  ounce. 

Charcoal 2  ounces. 

Mix. 

Of  course  the  horse's  bowels  should  be  kept  in  a 
normally  free  condition,  but  it  must  be  remembered 
that  the  trouble  is  chiefly  local  and  must  be  locally 
treated.  It  does  not  follow  that  the  same  treatment 
will  relieve  all  cases;  indeed,  I  have  found  the  one 


304:  TRAINING    THE   TROTTING    HORSE. 

remedy  fail  to  work  successfully  twice  on  the  same 
horse. 

"Distemper"  is  the  usual  name  applied  to  various 
forms  of  a  common  epidemic  of  a  catarrhal  nature  that 
usually  makes  a  clean  march  through  a  stable,  and  may 
prevail  in  all  degrees  of  severity,  from  the  form  of  a 
light  cold  to  that  of  a  most  distressing  and  dangerous 
influenza.  The  horse  shivers  and  shrinks;  his  coat 
becomes  rough  and  staring ;  the  appetite  fails ;  the 
mouth  and  eyes  bespeak  high  fever  ;  a  cough  develops ; 
swelling  may  appear  in  the  legs  and  about  the  head 
and  neck.  The  throat  is  generally  the  point  where  the 
attack  develops  its  greatest  severity ;  and  in  some  cases, 
as  in  that  of  Wildflower,  the  membranes  of  the  nostrils 
may  be  so  destroyed  as  to  permanently  interfere  with 
breathing,  and  the  body  may  forever  carry  the  scars 
following  eruptions  all  over  it.  You  cannot  well 
imag-ine  a  more  woe-beo:one  and  demoralized  creature 
than  a  horse  in  the  grip  of  severe  distemper. 

The  horse  must  be  kept  warm  and  clean,  and  if  run- 
ning freely  so  much  the  better.  Sometimes  we  steam 
the  head  and  throat  and  administer  aconite — dose,  fif- 
teen drops  in  a  little  water,  say  every  two  hours,  if  the 
fever  is  moderately  high.  In  very  severe  fevers  we 
give  the  aconite  every  half-hour  for  a  time.  When  it 
is  deemed  best  to  poultice  the  throat,  a  poultice  of  slip- 
pery elm  bark,  hops  and  oil  cake  is  good.  Some 
strongly  recommend  quinine  for  distemper.  It  is  so 
varying,  and  in  severe  cases  so  dangerous  a  disease, 
that  a  veterinarian  should  be  called  if  the  symptoms 
indicate  anything  Avorse  than  a  severe  cold,  unless  you 
are  somewhat  accustomed  to  its  treatment. 


THRUSH.  305 

Thrush,  I  have  observed,  very  often  goes  in  company 
with  contracted  feet.  It  is  a  disease  of  the  frof>\  from 
which  an  offensive  discharge  proceeds.  A  not  infre- 
quent cause  is  standing  in  wet  places  where  the  urine 
lodges  and  the  feet  becomes  soaked  and  saturated  in 
filth.  Another  cause  that  may  produce  thrush  is  the 
filthy  and  senseless  practice  of  stopping  the  feet  with 
cow-dung  or  other  unclean  substances.  First,  the  foot 
should  be  kept  clean  and  dry,  and  as  a  good  application 
I  may  recommend  a  weak  solution  of  blue  vitriol.  Some 
use  butter  of  antimony  and  others  salt.  However,  the 
best  remedy  I  have  ever  known  was  given  me  by  Mr. 
William  Moore,  of  Albany,  a  clever  horseman  and  a 
gentleman.     Here  it  is : 

Red  precipitate 1  ounce. 

Blue  vitriol 1  ounce. 

Burnt  alum jounce. 

Powdered  white  sugar 1  ounce. 

Mix,  and  apply  daily  to  the  affected  frog. 

Quarter  cracks  I  believe  to  be  sometimes  caused  by 
allowing  the  foot  to  grow  long  and  the  horn  to  become 
dried  and  hard,  when  the  expansion  of  the  foot  at  the 
coronet  cracks  the  inelastic  hoof  below  it. 

For  the  cure  of  quarter-crack  I  cut  the  horn  away  on 
either  side  of  the  crack,  leaving  a  Y-shaped  incision, 
the  apex  of  the  V  being  at  the  lower  extremity  of  the 
crack.  Then  I  cut  away  the  hoof  from  a  little  in  front 
of  the  crack  to  the  heel.  Xow  T  shoe  with  a  bar-shoe, 
this  making  the  other  side  of  the  foot  and  the  fros" 
bear  the  weight,  none  of  which  comes  on  the  region 
immediately  affected  by  the  crack,  leaving  it  free  to 
grow  out  without  working.     The  foot  must  be  easily 


306  TRAINING    THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 

and  carefully  cut  away  without  getting  into  the  sensi- 
tive parts. 

-  Tender  feet,  if  naturally  tender,  are  hardly  susce}3ti- 
ble  to  any  treatment,  though  often  a  Lockiepad  shoe 
will  prove  effectual.  I  consider  the  Lockiepad  shoe  a 
great  invention,  and  whether  the  feet  be  constitution- 
ally tender,  or  whether  the  trouble  merely  arises  from 
a  hard  track,  they  are  well  worth}^  of  trial.  Almost 
ever}^  good  appliance  has  its  drawback,  and  the  trouble 
with  the  Lockiepad  is  that  you  never  know  how  much 
weight  you  are  carrying,  and  in  some  cases  a  tendency 
to  thrush  may  be  caused  by  the  pad.  A  horse  so  shod 
I  stand  in  water,  or  wet  the  foot  well  twice  a  day,  to 
allow  the  sponge  to  take  up  water.  They  must  be 
often  changed.  The  Lockiepad  shoe  should  be  taken 
off  and  the  foot  cleaned  at  least  every  two  weeks. 
Then  you  can  see  how  the  foot  is  doing.  If  the 
slightest  tendency  to  thrush  is  discerned,  they  must  be 
cast  aside.  The  Lockiepad  shoe  will  certainly  often 
prove  good  on  a  hard  track,  and  will  many  times  be 
found  the  remedy  where  a  horse  refuses  to  extend  him- 
self, for  often  a  very  slight  soreness  will  "tie  up"  a 
horse.  I  used  this  shoe  to  advantage  on  Manzanita  and 
Hinda  Rose,  the  latter  going  a  mile  in  2:23  at  Lexing- 
ton, so  shod. 

For  a  horse  sore  from  trotting  on  hard  tracks  I  have 
found  the  following  liniment  excellent.  For  it  I  am 
indebted  to  my  friend  George  J.  Fuller,  the  famous 
driver  of  Patron : 

Linseed  oil 8  ounces. 

Turpentine = .  .4  ounces. 

Oil  tar , .6  ounces. 

Oil  origanum .6  ounces. 


TENDER    FEET.  307 

Mix.  Apply  with  sponge  around  the  hoof,  over  the 
bottom  of  the  foot,  and  allow  it  to  run  in  under  the 
shoe,  and  into  all  the  fissures  of  the  foot.  For  a  few 
days  apply  it  twice  a  day  and  afterward  once  a  day 
after  work. 

Splints  I  believe  are  most  effectually  treated  by 
firing.  I  have  found,  as  a  rule,  that  if  dotted  with  the 
firing  iron  soon  after  its  appearance  the  splint  will 
vanish. 

Sprung  tendons  I  have  most  successfully  treated  by 
resting,  getting  the  fever  down,  then  applying  iodine, 
and  later  the  sugar  of  lead  and  laudanum  leg  wash. 

Only  one  word  more  on  the  subject  of  the  scores  of 
ailments  and  injuries  which  beset  the  lives  of  horses  in 
training.  Don't  try  every  remedy  that  is  recom- 
mended, especially  if  dangerous  ones.  Try  what  some 
experienced  man  has  found  successful,  and  when  you 
get  a  good  thing  keep  a  note  of  it  for  future  reference. 


308  TRAINING  THE  TROTTING  HORSE. 


CHAPTER  XXYIII. 

THE    QUESTION    OF     BREEDING THE    IMPORTANCE    OF    FORM 

AND   ACTION ACTION  SHOULD  BE  PURE "  LINE-TROT- 
TING " STRUCTURE    OF    THE     STALLION ACTION    AND 

STRUCTURE  OF  DAM GOOD   MARES    OR  NONE TROTTING 

BLOOD    SHOULD  BE   GOOD DEVELOPED  SPEED THOR- 
OUGHBRED BLOOD MUST  BE  CAREFULLY  SELECTED  AND 

GOOD ITS    ADVANTAGES    IN    FINISH    AND    QUALITY,  NOT 

IN  GAMENESS VIEWING  THE  QUESTION  WITHOUT  PREJU- 
DICE  PRACTICES    IN     BREEDING — TIME    TOR    BREEDING 

THE    MARE — EXPERIENCES    WITH     SPRITE,    DOLLY    AND 

FLOWER    GIRL TRYING     AFTER    BRP:EDING FOALING 

TIME AGE    TO     BREED     MARES  —  NUMBER     STALLIONS 

SHOULD    BE    ALLOWED   TO    SERVE — DANGERS    OF    OVER- 
BREEDING. 

On  no  other  single  subject  connected  with  the  trot- 
ting horse  has  so  much  been  written  as  on  breeding, 
and  on  no  other  do  opinions  so  widel}^  differ.  I  do  not 
propose  to  theorize  on  the  subject,  nor  to  treat  it 
exhaustively,  as  my  main  subject  is  how  to  train  the 
trotter  rather  than  how  to  breed  him;  but  I  may 
briefly  throw  together  the  conclusions  that  have  formed 
in  my  mind  from  extended  observations  with  trotters. 

First,  I  hold  there  has  been  wide  error,  not,  perhaps, 
in  giving  too  much  attention  to  blood,  but  in  giving 
attention  to  blood  to  the  exclusion  of  everything  else, 
lorm  and  action,  I  believe,  have  been  too  generally 


BREEDING.  309 

neglected,  and  especially  is  this  true  of  action. 
Although  it  may  seem  paradoxical  to  say  so,  the  gait  I 
would  consider  perfection  in  a  campaigner  would  not 
exactly  suit  me  for  a  stock  horse.  I  would  prefer  for  a 
sire  a  horse  with  abundant  and  exuberant  action,  both 
before  and  behind,  one  with  perfectly  true  and  square 
stroke,  and  without  a  touch  of  mixing.  I  do  not 
object  to  a  horse  starting  on  an  amble,  but  when  he 
trots  let  it  be  a  trot.  I  do  not  care  how  a  horse  is  bred, 
nor  how  good  he  is  individually,  if  his  action  is  faulty 
he  would  not  suit  me  for  a  sire.  A  foul-gaited  horse 
will  get  foul-gaited  progeny,  and  that  kind  can  never 
hold  their  own  with  evenly  balanced  trotters.  Action 
is  not  the  only  thing  in  a  sire,  but  it  is  an  essential  for 
the  absence  of  which  nothing  can  atone.  I  believe  that 
the  chief  reason  why  Smuggler  has  not  been  a  greater 
success  than  he  is  as  a  sire,  is  because  he  had  not  the 
proper  order  of  action.  He  had  practically  no  hock 
action.  I  would  expect  of  course  the  best  results  from 
Smuo^o^ler  when  bred  to  mares  with  excessive  action. 
The  truest  kind  of  action  is  what  we  may  call  line- 
trotting.  The  horse  does  not  sprawl  to  get  his  hind 
feet  outside  of  the  front  ones.  The  hind  foot  goes  low, 
and  the  fore  foot  is  lifted  just  high  enough  to  let  the 
hmd  one  go  under,  not  outside  of,  the  front  one.  I 
like  a  horse  with  a  fairly  wide  chest,  and  the  legs  to 
stand  well  apart,  and  fall  straight  to  the  ground  (not 
^'both  come  out  of  one  hole"  like  a  saw-horse),  and 
they  should  be  especially  Avell  muscled.  The  idea  that 
a  narrow  chest  is  favorable  for  speed,  arose,  I  suppose, 
from  the  idea  that  a  horse's  hind  feet  must  necessarily 
go  outside  of  his  front  ones  in  trotting.  It  is  certainly 
an  error. 


310  TRAINING    THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 

I  need  not  go  into  any  lengthy  description  of  what 
the  form  of  an  ideal  stallion  ought  to  be — you  all  know 
it.  He  should  be  of  fair  size,  with  a  good,  brainy, 
intelligent  head,  a  strong,  sloping  shoulder;  a  round 
barrel,  with  a  strong,  springy  loin ;  quarters  of  great 
power,  muscled  well  inside  and  out,  strong  gaskins  and 
forearms ;  square-set  hocks  and  knees,  short  cannons, 
strong  pasterns  of  medium  angle,  and  good  feet.  Some 
will  argue  that  long  cannons  are  just  as  good  as  short 
ones — that  a  horse  with  a  long  cannon  wall  stride  just 
as  far  as  a  short-cannoned  horse.  That  may  be  true, 
but  I  hold  that  all  the  driving  power  is  above  the  hock, 
all  the  muscles  run  from  that  point  upward,  and  the 
horse  with  the  longest  thigh  has  the  greatest  driving 
power,  and  more  leverage  to  handle  the  leg  and  foot. 

In  the  dam  I  want  also  good  action,  but  I  would  not 
be  quite  so  exacting  in  her  case  as  to  having  plenty  of 
it,  for,  right  or  wrong,  it  is  my  belief  that  the  sire  gen- 
erally controls  the  action.  SaUie  Benton's  dam  had 
very  little  action ;  Dame  Winnie,  the  dam  of  Palo 
Alto,  and  Annette,  the  dam  of  Ansel,  had  not  any  to 
speak  of,  but  they  were  mated  Avith  Electioneer,  a 
horse  of  superabundant  action.  I  would  avoid  a  brood- 
mare, just  as  I  would  a  sire,  with  faulty  action.  Let 
what  they  have  be  square,  true  and  good.  I  like  a 
brood-mare  of  moderate  size.  The  dam  of  Manzanita 
stood  only  14.3 ;  the  dam  of  Bonita,  14.2.  Beautiful 
Bells  and  Dame  AYinnie  are  15.2;  May  Queen,  15 
hands.  I  prefer  mares  of  rather  block}^  build,  and  they 
should  have  good  heads,  tempers  and  dispositions.  I 
need  not  say  that  soundness  should  be  exacted  in  the 
brood-mare,  and  of  course  the  more  perfect  the  general 


FOKM   AND    ACTION.  311 

form  the  better.  The  idea  that  any  thing  will  do  for 
a  brood-mare  is  a  fallacy  of  bygone  days.  If  I  were 
breeding  trotters  I  would  have  good  mares  or  none. 

In  conclusion,  I  like  the  sire  and  dam  to  be  devel- 
oped trotters,  and  the  faster  they  can  go  the  better. 
If  they  are  natural  trotters,  and  have  in  training  shown 
great  speed,  together  with  good  form  and  balance,  from 
mating  them  you  are  almost  sure  to  get  a  trotter. 

As  for  the  trotting  blood  you  have,  of  course  the 
richer  the  better.  The  best  test  of  trotting  blood  is 
how  fast  and  how  much  it  has  trotted,  and  how  many 
and  how  fast  trotters  it  has  produced.  Any  kind  of 
blood  is  better  than  v.nhiovm  blood. 

As  to  thoroughbred  blood  in  the  trotter — that  sub- 
ject of  endless  discussion — I  will  try  and  give  ni}^  views 
as  briefly  and  as  clearly  as  possible.  Perhaps  the  best 
way  to  sum  up  my  idea  in  a  nutshell  is  to  say  that  I 
want  all  the  good  thoroughbred  blood  that  can  be  con- 
trolled. To  say  how  much  that  ma}^  be  is  impossible. 
Electioneer  may  in  some  cases  control  fifty  per  cent — 
trith  some  in  ares  he  might  fail  to  do  it — while  some  horses 
do  not  have  the  ability  to  control  it  at  all.  I  believe 
that  Mr.  J.  C.  Sibley  has  put  the  whole  thing  in  as  con- 
cise and  logical  a  form  as  possible  in  these  words: 
*'  My  judgment  is  that  some  horses  will  sire  trotters 
from  some  thoroughbreds ;  that  no  horse  can  sire  trot- 
ters from  some  thoroughbreds,  and  that  some  horses 
cannot  sire  trotters  from  any  thoroughbred." 

My  experience  has  been,  in  training  horses  from 
thoroughbred  mares,  that  their  heads  are  as  good  as 
the  average  trotting-bred  horse's  head.  This  experi- 
ence has  been,  it  is  true,  mostly  with  the  get  of  Elec- 


312  TRAINING    THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 

tioneer,  a  sire  with  great  brain-controlling  force,  and  it 
may  be  that  had  I  handled  the  same  number  of  half- 
bred  horses  by  some  other  sire  I  might  have  found  it 
different.  However,  I  am  not  telling  what  my  experi- 
ences might  have  been,  but  what  the}^  were.  The  only 
"ugly"  half-bred  one  I  ever  had  to  deal  with  was  Ger- 
trude Eussell.  She  was  ill-used  and  whipped,  and  after 
she  came  into  my  hands  I  got  her  fairly  gentle,  though 
she  always  pulled.  As  far  as  breaking  is  concerned, 
they  made  "good  breakers."  Palo  Alto  trotted  in 
2:12^^  and  2:12^,  with  breaks  in  the  mile,  and  3^ou  can 
not  afford  to  make  a  very  bad  break  to  finish  in  2:1 2^. 
Ansel  trotted  a  mile  in  2:20,  with  a  break  in  it.  Ger- 
trude Kussell,  Whips  and  Azmoor  were  good  breakers. 
They  would  make  a  clear  run  and  come  back  to  the 
trot  handily.  The  only  bad  breaker  in  the  lot  was 
Express,  and  he  has  improved. 

The  advantages  of  thoroughbred  blood,  as  they  seem 
to  me,  are  that  it  gives  higher  finish,  better  quality  of 
bone,  better  joints,  and  superior  wind  and  lung  power. 
I  do  not  base  my  claims  for  thoroughbred  blood  6n 
gameness.  M}^  belief  is  that  gameness  comes  in  great 
part  from  pure,  frictionless  action.  It  is  practically  a 
truth  that  speed  ^inakes  gameness. 

"There  are  thoroughbreds  and  thoroughbreds." 
Some  thoroughbreds  have  more  trotting  action  than 
others.  In  selecting  a  thoroughbred  mare  to  breed  to 
a  trotting  stallion  we  pay  great  regard  to  form,  action 
and  head.  Some  thoroughbreds  are  more  brainy  and 
level-headed  than  others,  and  from  one  of  these  of  the 
right  conformation  bred  to  a  stallion  like  Electioneer, 
of  great  brain  and  action-controlling  power,  the  chances 


THOEOUGHBKED    BLOOD.  313 

of  getting  a  high  class  trotter  are  good.  I  do  not  claim 
that  you  can  get  trotters  as  uniformly  this  wny  as  b}^ 
breeding  from  trotting  mares,  but  you  can,  \Yith  the 
properly  mated  sire  and  dam,  get  horses  of  high  class 
by  this  line  of  breeding  horses,  of  great  finish  and 
hard,  fine  qualit}^  AYe  have,  I  think,  demonstrated 
at  Palo  Alto  that  some  horses  at  least  can  control  the 
action  of  the  thoroughbred,  and  where  that  can  be 
done  I  have  no  hesitation  in  declaring  my  preference 
for  a  good  dash  of  thoroughbred  blood. 

I  endeavor  to  regard  all  such  matters  without  preju- 
dice. I  have  no  quarrel  with  trotting  blood,  nor  have 
I  anv  fault  to  find  with  breeders  who  stick  to  trottinir 
blood.  But  all  candid  men  must  admit  that  trotters 
come  from  all  combinations,  that  there  are  more  ways 
than  one  to  breed  them.  I  have  no  desire  to  argue 
that  one  way  is  better  than  another — I  only  insist  that 
we  have  shown  that  high-class  trotters  can  he  bred 
with  close  and  direct  infusions  of  thoroughbred  blood. 
I  do  not  advise  any  breeder  to  sell  his  trotting-bred 
mares  and  buy  half-bred  or  thoroughbred  mares,  nor 
do  I  advise  him  to  patronize  a  stallion  simply  because 
he  has  thoroughbred  blood.  But  what  I  do  advise  is, 
that  when  3^ou  find  a  good  horse  or  a  good  mare,  a 
horse  that  is  a  trotter,  or  a  mare  that  is  a  producer, 
that  has  plenty  of  thoroughbred  blood,  do  not  let  that 
scare  you  away  from  them,  but  rather  value  them  the 
higher  for  it.  My  idea  is  to  recognize  merit  wherever 
you  see  it,  and  when  a  stallion  trots  in  2: 12 J,  or  even 
2:20,  you  need  not  fear  that  his  thoroughbred  blood 
will  stop  his  progeny  from  trotting. 

But,  as  I  have  said,  it  is  no  part  of  my  business  to 


3li  TRAINING    THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 

write  about  theories,  or  to  take  part  here  in  the  con- 
tention between  the  different  schools  of  breeding.  This 
work  is  more  practical,  and  in  pursuance  thereof  we 
will  now  suppose  that  j^ou  have  selected  jour  horse  and 
mare,  and  are  about  to  breed,  in  the  fond  hope  of  get- 
ting a  Sunol  or  an  Axtell. 

Having  settled  upon  the  stallion  and  mare,  I  would 
mate  them  as  soon  after  February  15th  as  possible. 
Every  day  of  life  is  an  advantage  to  the  colt  that  is 
expected  to  trot  voung,  and  when  the  time  is  counted 
by  weeks  and  months  the  advantao:e  is  increased  many- 
fold.  I  believe  the  mare  is  better  if  worked  some.  If 
possible  I  would  work  her  moderatelv  while  carrying 
the  foal,  at  least  in  the  earlier  months  of  pregnancy. 

We  breed  mares  on  the  eighth  or  ninth  day  after 
foaling.  Some  will  go  out  of  use  the  eighth  day. 
After  the  mare  is  bred  we  let  her  go  out  of  use  before 
breeding  again.  Whenever  she  comes  in  again  we 
breed  her,  no  matter  how  long  or  how  short  has  been 
the  interval.  The  season  of  18S8,  after  Sprite  and 
Dolly  were  bred,  we  found  that  for  three  months  they 
would  take  the  horse  any  time  they  were  bred.  Dolly 
proved  in  foal,  while  Sprite  failed.  Some  mares  will 
certainly  welcome  the  stallion's  embrace  after  they  are 
in  foal,  so  that  the  mare's  accepting  the  horse  cannot 
be  taken  for  a  certain  indication  in  all  cases  that  she 
has  failed  to  hold.  A  couple  of  seasons  since  we  bred 
Flower  Girl  once,  and  shortly  afterward  decided  to 
train  her,  so  that  orders  were  given  that  if  she  came  in 
again  she  was  not  to  be  put  back  to  the  horse.  She 
came  in  use,  and  would  have  stood  for  the  horse  any 
ilav.     After  we  worked  her  awhile  she  would  occasion- 


BREEDING    THE    MARE.  315 

ally  go  dead  lame  in  one  hind  leg,  and  finally  she 
proved  to  be  in  foal.  The  first  season  I  came  to  Palo 
Alto,  Aurora  came  into  use  early  in  March,  and  was 
bred.  A  few  days  later  she  slunk  a  colt,  being  in  foal 
from  a  service  the  previous  season ;  and  we  have  since 
had  a  similar  case.  These  instances  prove  that  a  mare 
may  take  the  horse  at  almost  any  period  of  pregnane  v. 

Our  practice  is  to  breed  in  the  evening.  If  horses 
are  used  in  the  morning  they  are  excitable  and  rest- 
less all  day ;  and  mares  also  are  cooler  and  calmer  after 
an  evening's  service.  I  have  no  faith  in  artificial  tricks 
to  get  mares  to  catch.  Some  throw  cold  water  over 
the  mare ;  another  jabs  an  awl  into  her  ear  just  at 
what  he  supposes  the  vital  moment ;  another  has  a 
theory  about  the  moon.  All  this  is  nonsense  of  the 
witchcraft  order.  If  the  mare  fails  to  hold  after  three 
or  four  services,  it  is  well  to  "open"  her,  to  see  that 
the  mouth  of  the  womb  is  in  proper  place  and  condi- 
tion. Every  breeder  who  breeds  extensively  should 
have  a  speculum,  and  acquaint  himself,  or  have  his  fore- 
man acquaint  himself,  with  the  condition  and  position 
of  the  genital  organs  of  the  mare,  so  that  he  can  intelli- 
gently cope  with  any  slight  irregularity  that  may  pre- 
vent conception. 

After  we  breed  the  mares  we  turn  them  out  in  a 
paddock  until  they  go  out  of  use.  Then  they  are 
turned  in  with  the  others,  and  a  horse  is  led  among 
them  every  day  to  ascertain  which  require  attention. 
Our  trial  d^js  are  the  eighteenth  after  being  bred,  then 
again  nine  days  later,  and  again  nine  days  after  that.  ^Ve 
carefully  keep  account  of  the  trial  days  of  each  mare, 
and  try  her  particularly  then.     We  breed  her  whenever 


316  TRAINING  THE  TROTTING  HORSE. 

she  comes  in,  no  matter  what  day ;  but  if  they  do  not 
"  show,"  as  I  have  said,  try  them  especially  on  their 
trial  days.  After  the  fourth  trial  day,  if  the  mare  fails 
to  "show,"  we  conclude  that  she  is  all  right.  Still, 
with  all  these  precautions,  I  have  known  them  to  come 
into  use  again,  say  ninety  days  later. 

We  carefully  watch  mares  about  due  to  foal,  and 
have  at  the  farm  twent3^-five  large  foaling  stalls.  As 
soon,  of  course,  as  the  youngsters  are  able  to  move 
around,  we  take  them  out  to  make  room  for  other 
mares  "in  an  interesting  condition."  The  day  after 
the  colt  is  foaled  we  turn  him  out  a  little  while  in  the 
sun  with  his  dam.  The  mare  should  be  fed  such  food 
as  will  keep  her  bowels  free,  and  the  colt's  bowels  must 
also  be  got  working.  You  may  have  to  give  him  a 
warm  water  injection  before  he  is  an  hour  old. 

I  would  not  at  first  put  more  than  three  or  four 
mares  with  foals  in  the  same  paddock.  At  first  the 
mares  are  nervous,  and  will  fight  off  anything  that 
comes  near ;  after  the  colts  get  older,  of  course,  more 
can  be  put  together. 

Here  we  can  leave  the  youngster,  for  you  will  remem- 
ber that  it  was  at  this  point  that  I  took  him  up  in  my 
first  chapter  on  training. 

I  do  not  believe  in  breeding  mares  under  four  years 
old ;  I  think  it  stunts  the  mare's  growth,  and  the  colt 
is  not  so  apt  to  be  good.  I  think  that  while  the  mare 
is  growing  she  needs  all  her  strength,  and  cannot,  with- 
out injury,  give  nourishment  to  the  colt. 

For  a  two-year-old  stallion  I  think  three  or  four 
mares  are  really  beneficial.  I  would  not  give  him 
more  than  six,  and  they  should  be  well  distr'^uted  over 
the  season. 


OVER  SERVICE.  317 

For  a  three-year-old  stallion  twenty  mares  should 
be  the  outside  limit,  and  they  should  be  well  dis- 
tributed, too. 

A  four-year-old  stallion  can  comfortably  cover  thirty 
to  thirty-five  mares,  and  at  five  years  old  he  should 
take  a  full  season.  I  believe  fifty  mares  furnish  a 
heavy  enough  season  for  any  horse  to  make. 

I  would  especially  guard  against  the  dangers  of  over- 
breeding.  We  often  wonder  why  the  progeny  of  the 
same  horse  and  mare  differ  so  widely — why  there  are 
such  variations  between  brothers  and  sisters.  I  believe 
if  we  could  be  sure  that  the  sire  and  dam  were  always 
in  the  same  condition,  and  always  had  the  same  com- 
parative and  relative  vigor,  we  could  breed  with  great 
uniformity.  There  is  no  doubt  in  mv  mind  that  the 
character  of  the  colt  is  largeh"  determined  by  the 
condition  of  the  parents  at  the  time  of  conception.  If 
the  sire's  vigor  be  sapped  by  too  much  stud-service  you 
can  hardly  expect  the  colt  to  be  uniform  with  one 
begotten  in  a  state  of  full  vigor.  I  suppose  the  reader 
means,  as  a  breeder,  to  aim  at  great  results,  rather  than 
great  numbers.  To  that  end  it  is  certainh^  enough  to 
let  a  horse  serve  once  a  day ;  and  indeed  I  would  prefer 
that  he  is  used  onh^  on  alternate  days,  if  practicable. 
Certainly,  one  good  colt  is  worth  ten  ordinary  ones ; 
and  if  it  be  true,  as  I  verily  believe,  that  moderation  in 
the  use  of  stallions  will  result  in  better  progeny,  then 
it  is  very  poor  economy  to  yield  to  the  temptation  to 
overdo  it.  With  all  the  care  that  can  be  exercised  you 
will  o^et  enouo:h  common  ones,  but  no  one  can  doubt 
that  the  sapped  condition  that  over-service  produces 
must  prove  detrimental  to  a  stallion's  success  as  a  sire. 


318  TRAINING   THE   TROTTING   HORSE. 


CHAPTEE  XXIX. 

NEARING  THE  END A  TRIBUTE  TO  ELECTIONEER — HIS  BREED- 
ING,   HISTORY   AND    CHARACTERISTICS HIS    SPEED HIS 

ROLL  OF  HONOR  AND  RANK  AS  A  SIRE — THE  ELEC- 
TIONEER ACTION THE  ELECTIONEERS  AS  CAMPAIGN- 
ERS— GENERAL  BENTON PIEDMONT NEPHEW THE 

ST.  CLAIRS THE  BELMONTS — THE  MOORS NUTWOOD — • 

GUY  WILKES — A.  W.  RICHMOND — AU  REVOIR. 

I  HAVE  now  covered  almost  all  the  ground  contem- 
plated at  the  outset  of  this  work.  I  have  given  my 
experiences  with  the  most  noted  horses  I  have  driven ; 
have  told  how  they  were  trained ;  have  elucidated,  as 
fully  and  explicitly  as  it  seems  in  my  power,  the  meth- 
ods of  teaching  colts  to  trot  that  have  been  so  success- 
ful at  Palo  Alto;  have  explained  how  they  are  fed, 
kept,  shod,  worked  and  driven,  and  have  given  my 
views  on  the  practical  aspects  of  breeding.  Taking  up 
the  colt  at  his  birth,  we  have  traveled,  as  it  were,  in  a 
circle  back  to  the  starting  point,  and  all  that  remains 
to  complete  the  programme  on  which  we  started  out  is 
to  devote  a  chapter  to  Electioneer  and  other  horses  and 
families  of  California. 

A  thousand  things  remain  to  be  said,  and  dozens  of 
topics  of  varying  importance  in  "  horseology "  have 
been  neglected ;  but  no  man  has  ever  yet  covered  all 
horse  knowledge  in  one  volume,  and  I  was  not  foolish 
enough  to  attempt  to  do  it.     I  have  striven  to  condense 


ELECTIONEEK.  319 

the  things  of  greatest  importance  concerning  the  trot- 
ting-horseman  into  a  volume  of  convenient  size,  and 
trust  that  in  a  fair  measure  I  have  succeeded. 

My  greatest  success,  as  the  world  knows,  has  been 
with  tile  get  of  Electioneer,  and  while  it  would  be  but 
affectation  to  say  that  I  am  not  conscious  of  having 
done  considerable  to  help  his  reputation,  I  have  no 
doubt  he  has  done,  in  giving  me  the  material  I  have 
had  to  work  with,  much  for  mine.  So  in  this  chapter 
a  little  tribute  to  him  is  only  scant  justice  from  me. 

Electioneer  is  a  dark  bay  horse,  standing  15.2  hands 
high,  and  was  bred  by  Charles  Backman,  at  his  stud 
farm  at  Stony  Ford,  Xew  York.  He  was  foaled  May 
2,  1868,  and  came  to  Palo  Alto  in  the  fall  of  1876. 
His  sire  was  Eysdyk's  Hambletonian,  the  greatest 
progenitor  of  trotters,  and  his  dam  was  Green  Mount- 
ain Maid,  "the  great  mother  of  trotters,''  over  whose 
grave  a  monument  stands  at  Stony  Ford.  She  was  by 
Harry  Clay,  2:29,  out  of  Shanghai  Mary,  whose  lineage 
is  enfolded  in  mystery,  but  whose  blood  must,  from 
what  she  was  and  what  her  daughter  was,  have  had  a 
strain  of  sterling  richness  in  it.  Among  Green  Mount- 
ain Maid's  famous  children,  besides  Electioneer,  are 
Prospero,  2:20  ;  Elaine,  2:20  ;  Dame  Trot,  2:22  ;  Elista, 
2:22f ,  Mansfield,  2:26;  Storm,  2:26f;  Antonio,  2:28f, 
and  Miranda,  2:31.  She  is  the  dam  of  more  trotters 
that  have  trotted  in  2:30  or  better  than  any  mare  that 
has  ever  lived ;  and  she  also  produced  in  Electioneer 
the  greatest  sire  of  trotters  that  has  ever  lived. 

Electioneer,  as  his  picture  shows,  is  a  stout  and  com- 
pactly built  horse.  I  have  above  given  his  height  at 
15.2  measured  at  the  wither.     He  is  an  inch  hiofher 


TRAINING   THE   TROTTING    HORSE. 

behind,  and  in  this  conformation  many  of  his  progeny 
follow  him,  notably  Sunol.  His  head  is  well  propor- 
tioned and  of  fair  size,  and  is  a  model  of  intelligence 
and  beauty.  His  brainj^  head  accounts  for  the  heads 
of  his  children — beautiful  in  shape  and  level  in  balance. 
He  has  a  good  shoulder,  splendid  barrel,  faultless  back, 
and  simply  the  best  quarters  I  ever  saw  on  a  stallion. 
There  3^ou  see  the  perfection  of  driving  power.  His 
forearms  and  gaskins  are  heavily  muscled,  his  joints 
clean  and  sound,  and  his  legs  and  feet  naturally  of 
first-class  quality.  He  is,  in  short,  a  stout  and  smooth 
horse  of  the  solid  type,  combining  in  structure  great 
power  with  elegant  proportion  and  pleasing  finish  at 
every  point. 

As  a  three-year  old  he  was  broken  at  Stony  Ford 
and  worked  some  to  wagon.  Mr.  Charles  Backman, 
whose  word  is  good  enough  authority  for  anything, 
states  that  he  timed  him  quarters  to  wagon  in  thirty- 
eight  seconds,  with  little  work.  To  some  this  may 
be  surprising ;  to  me  it  is  not,  for  I  know  his  great 
natural  speed. 

Electioneer  is  the  most  natural  trotter  I  have  ever 
seen.  He  has  free,  abundant  action;  it  is  a  perfect 
rolling  action  both  in  front  and  behind,  and  he  has  not 
the  usual  fault  of  the  Hambletonians,  of  going  too  wide 
behind.  Certain  writers  have  said  that  Electioneer 
could  not  trot,  and  have  cited  him  as  a  stallion  that 
was  not  a  trotter,  j^et  got  trotters.  All  the  comment 
I  have  to  make  on  this  is  that  T  have  driven,  beside 
Electioneer,  a  quarter  better  than  thirty -five  seconds ; 
and  though  this  may  not  be  fast  enough  to  suit  the 
critics  of  Electioneer,  I  call  aii}^  horse  that  can  speed 


M, 


o 

o 

w 


HIS    ROLL    OF    HONOR.  321 

faster  than  a  2:20  gait  a  trotter.  He  did  this,  too, 
hitched  to  a  125-pound  wagon,  with  a  220-pound  man 
— and  not  a  professional  driver,  either — in  the  seat.  In 
this  rig  he  could  carry  Occident  right  up  to  his  clip, 
and  could  alwaj^s  keep  right  with  him ;  and  it  was  no 
trick  for  the  famous  St.  Clair  gelding  to  go  a  quarter 
in  thirty  four  seconds.  Without  preparation  you  could 
take  out  Electioneer  in  stud  condition  any  day  and 
drivQ^  him  an  eighth  of  a  mile  at  a  2:20  gait.  He 
always  had  his  speed  with  him,  and  this  is  a  character- 
istic of  his  sons,  and  to  my  mind  one  of  great  impor- 
tance to  breeders.  That  Electioneer  could  have  beaten 
2:20  if  given  a  regular  preparation  is,  with  me,  a  con- 
viction  about  which  no  doubt  exists. 

As  a  sire  I  believe  him  to  be  the  greatest  of  all  troir 
ting  sires.  He  began  his  stud  services  in  California  in 
1877,  his  family  beginning  in  1878,  and  here  is  his  roll 
of  honor: 

YEARLING. 

Hinda  Rose  (fastest  when  made) 2:36| 

TWO-YEAR-OLDS. 

Sunol  (fastest  to  date) 2:18 

Wild  Flower  (fastest  wlien  made) 2:21 

Bonita 2:24i 

Fred  Crocker  (fastest  when  made) 2:25^ 

Bell  Boy 2:26 

Carrie  C  2:27i 

Pedlar 2:27f 

Palo  Alto  Belle 2:28i 

Sphinx 2:29i 

Del  Mar 2:30 

THREE-YEAR-OLDS. 

Sunol  (fastest  to  date) 2:10i 

Bell  Boy 2:19^ 


322  TRAINING  th:^:  trotting  horse. 

Hinda  Rose  (fastest  when  made) 2:19f 

Palo  Alto   Belle 2:22i 

Campbell's  Electioneer  2:22^ 

Maiden 2:23 

Manzanita » 2:231- 

Rexford = 2:24 

Sphinx 2:24i 

Hattie  D 2:26f 

Grace  Lee 2 :29i 

FOTJR-TEAR-OLDS. 

Manzanita  (fastest  to  date) 2:16 

Bonita 2:18f 

Antevolo 2:19^ 

Palo  Alto  2:20^ 

Albert  W 2:22i 

Albert  W.  (two  miles) 4:51 

Sphinx 2:23 

Lot  Slocum 2:23f 

Gov.  Stanford 2:23f 

Carrie  C 2:24 

Clifton  Bell 2:24^ 

St.  Bel 2 :24i 

Mortimer 2:27 

Egotist 2:29 

Ella 2 :29 

Azmoor » 2:30 

FIVE-YEAR-OLDS. 

Lot  Slocum 2:17 

Gertrude  Russell 2:23i 

Clay 2:25 

Emaline 2:27i 

Cubic 2:28i 

SIX- YEAR  OLDS. 

Anteeo 2 :16i 

Lot  Slocum 2:17i 

Adair 2 :  17i 

Old  Nick 2 :23 

Carrie  C 2:24i 


WHAT    HORSE    CAN    COMPARE?  323 

Aziuoor 2:24f 

Morca 2:25 

Express 2:29^ 

Arbutus 2:30 

SEVEN-YEAR-OLDS. 

Palo  Alto 2:12i 

Nerval 2:17^ 

Adair 2 :17i 

Bonita 2:18i 

Ansel 2:20 

Albert  W 2:20^ 

Express 2:21 

Junio 2:22 

Peruvian  Bitters  (pacer) , 2:23^ 

Arbutus 2:24i 

Whips , , 2:27f 

EIGHT- YEAR- OLDS. 

Albert  W 2:20 

Elector 2:21^ 

Stella 2:23i 

Eros 2:28i 

Fallis 2 :28i 

Commotion 2 :30 

NINE- YEAR-OLDS. 

Old  Xick 2:23 

Arol 2 :24 

TEN-YEAR-OLDS. 

Fallis 2:23 

I  ask  an}^  man  conversant  with  tbe  records  to  answer 
me  candidly  this  question  :  What  horse  has  to  his 
credit,  from  an  equal  ttime  in  the  stud,  achievements 
that  can  be  compared  to  these  ?  There  can  only  be 
one  answer.  Xo  horse  has  ever  before  even  approached 
the  marvelous  record  of  Electioneer  in  the  stud. 

The  action  of  the  Electioneers  is  characteristic. 
They   are    mostly   prompt,   round-gaited   horses,  and 


324  TRAINING    THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 

straight-line  trotters.  They  do  not  have  to  "square 
away  "  or  "  strike  a  position  "  to  get  up  speed.  Asa 
rule  they  are  close-gaited ;  and  very  few  indeed  are  of 
that  class  that  are  called  "  open-gaited."  The  majority 
of  them  do  not  throw  the  hind  foot  outside  of  the  fore 
foot  in  trotting,  but,  on  the  line-trotting  principle,  "go 
under."  They  do  not  have  to  go  a  mile  or  so  to  get 
untangled ;  they  trot  low,  have  no  waste  action,  and 
gather  speed  quickly  and  smoothl^^ 

The  statement  so  often  made  by  those  who  know 
little  about  them,  that  the  Electioneers  are  not  game 
horses,  sounds  very  absurd  to  one  who  knows  how 
easily  they  trot,  how  great  is  their  natural  speed,  and 
how^  perfect!}^  they  are  balanced,  canying  little  or  no 
weight.  The  same  charge  has  been  made  against  all 
families,  and  perhaps  it  is  not  worth  repelling ;  but  I 
may  claim  to  know  the  Electioneers  as  well  as  any 
man,  and  as  campaigners  they  are  good  enough  for  me. 
They  are  good  feeders,  cheerful  dispositioned  horses, 
that  take  their  work  well,  and  have  the  quality  of 
race-horses.  I  consider  them,  in  this  respect,  the  equal 
of  any  of  our  trotting  families.  I  have  seen  horses 
that  lacked  heart,  and  I  have  trained  a  faint-hearted 
horse,  but  I  have  yet  to  see  the  first  Electioneer  against 
which  the  charge  can  in  justice  be  made.  Wildflower 
and  Manzanita  were  not  bred  from  mares  that  would 
popularly  be  expected  to  throw  -game  performers,  but 
a  gamer  mare  than  "Wildflower  never  looked  through 
a  bridle.  She  would  respond  to  every  call  to  the  last 
inch  of  her  capacity.  The  same  is  true  of  Manzanita. 
She  trotted  frequently  when  out  of  condition,  but  when 
anyw^here  near  at  herself  no  horse  of  her  age  could 


THE   ^VILKES    FAMILY.  325 

beat  her  at  any  distance,  and  she  would  go  on  her 
courage  to  the  extreme  limit  of  her  ability.  Her  four- 
year-old  record  was  made  in  the  third  heat  of  a  race, 
and  stands  unbeaten. 

The  Wilkes'  are  claimed  to  be  the  greatest  of  cam- 
paigning families ;  but  a  recent  writer  proved  by  tabu- 
lating the   records  that   while   the   2:30   trotters,  by 
George  AYilkes,  won  3^  per  cent,  of  their  races,  the 
2:30   trotters,    by  Electioneer,   w^on   43   per   cent,   of 
theirs ;  and  against  2:24:  and  a  fraction,  as  the  average 
record  of  the  "Wilkes',  he  found  2:22  and  a  fraction  to 
be   the   average   record    of    the   Electioneers.     These 
racing   statistics  certainly   look  as  though  the   Elec- 
tioneers raced  successfully.    Another  writer,  some  time 
ago,  ex])loded  the  exaggerated  ideas  that  have  been 
afloat  about  the  opportunities  of  Electioneer.     It  has 
been  said  that  ''hundreds"  of  his  get  were  trained  and 
broken   down   at   Palo  Alto.     The  writer  was  given 
access  to  the  Palo  Alto  books,  and  his  tables  made 
therefrom  showed  that  at  the  close  of  1888  the  total 
number  of  foals  bred  at  Palo  Alto,  and  got  by  Elec- 
tioneer, was  235  ;  that  139  were  trained  more  or  less ; 
and  that  of  these  ninety -one,  or  over  65^  per  cent,  had, 
under  the  watch,  shown  the  ability  to  trot  in  2:30  or 
better.  These  stud  statistics  show  with  what  uniformity 
Electioneer  gets  speed,  and  what  is  better,  early  and 
extreme  speed— and  they  furnish  ample  basis  for  my 
belief  that  he  produces  a  larger  percentage  of  animals 
naturally  gifted   with  the  ability   to   trot   in  2:30  or 
better  than  any  horse  that  ever  lived. 

The  owner  of  a  great  horse  in  Kentucky— over  the 
honored  dust  of  both  owner  and  horse  the  blue-o-rass 


326  TRAINING    THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 

is  growing — was  wont  to  proudly  call  him  "  The  Great 
Sire  of  Trotters,"  and  the  lofty  distinction  was  not 
undeserved ;  but  when  Electioneer's  days  are  done, 
justice  will  record  that  in  his  grave  lies  The  Greatest 
Sire  of  Trotters. 

Gen.  Benton  was  what  may  be  called  an  action- 
controlling  sire.  He  was  speedy  himself,  and  trans- 
mitted high  rates  of  speed.  His  force  in  controlling 
action  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  out  of  the  thorough- 
bred Dame  Winnie  he  got  Big  Jim,  2:22^,  and  out  of 
other  thoroughbred  mares  he  got  daughters  that  are 
producing  speed.  From  the  race-mare  Waxy,  he  got 
Waxana,  a  mare  that  was  never  regularlj^  trained,  but 
could  show  about  a  2:40  gait.  By  Electioneer  she  pro- 
duced Sunol,  2:10J.  The  Bentons  have  about  the 
average  order  of  action  in  front,  but  behind  they  go 
low  and  wide,  indeed  somewhat  "  sprawling."  They 
come  to  their  speed  quickh^,  but,  as  a  rule,  they  were 
too  growthy  to  train  young.  The  blood  of  Gen. 
Benton  will  be  valued  more  in  the  future  than  it  has 
been.  It  carries  speed,  finish  and  resolution.  The 
daughters  of  Benton,  I  predict,  will  yet  rank  among 
the  most  fashionable  brood-mares. 

Piedmont,  2:1  TJ,  is  just  beginning  to  make  his 
reputation  as  a  sire.  He  was  a  great  race-horse,  fast 
and  game.  It  is  the  fortune  of  some  horses  to  be  over- 
rated on  the  turf,  but  Piedmont  was  alwaj^s  under- 
rated when  he  was  campaigning.  He  won  in  1881,  in 
Chicago,  the  greatest  race  ever  trotted  between  a  lot 
of  stallions,  and  he  outlasted  and  defeated  the  greatest 
field  of  campaigning  stallions  that  ever  faced  a  starter. 
But  even  his  trainer,  Peter  Johnston,  had  no  idea  he 


PIEDMONT    AND    XEPHEW.  327 

was  as  good  as  he  was  that  day.  He  had  been  set 
down  so  often  by  the  clever  men  as  "  a  duffer '-  that 
probably  his  driver  half  believed  it.  But  he  met 
Robert  McGregor,  Santa  Claus,  Hannis,  the  resolute 
Wedgewood,  and  the  two-miler,  Monroe  Chief,  fought 
for  every  heat,  and  beat  them  in  the  fourth,  fifth  and 
sixth  heats  in  2:lTi,  2:19^,  2:21. 

He  is  a  rather  large  horse  to  exactly  suit  me  as  a 
stock-horse,  and  his  o'et  are  so  g-rowthvthat  thev  don't 
take  kindly  to  early  training.  But  like  their  sire,  thej^ 
are  good  race-horses  wlien  you  get  them  trained. 
They  incline  to  be  prompt  and  trappy-gaited,  with 
much  of  the  Almont  order  of  action.  Piedmont  is  the 
most  intelligent  horse  I  have  ever  known.  I  worked 
him  some  and  could  drive  him  at  any  gait  desired  by 
simpl}^  talking  to  him.  He  had  far  more  speed  than 
his  record  shows.  I  drove  him  with  the  lines  laying 
on  his  back  a  quarter  in  0:33,  and  I  saw  him  driven  a 
quarter  in  0:32. 

Nephew,  the  other  aged  Palo  Alto  stallion,  will,  I 
think,  prove  successful,  though  I  have  hardlv  had  experi- 
ence enough  with  his  get  as  yet  to  speak  fully.  They 
show  well  in  the  kindergarten,  and  act  like  colts  that 
will  make  early  trotters.  Such  as  have  appeared  on  the 
turf  have  proved  good  campaigners,  as  would  be 
expected  from  Xephew's  breeding,  he  being  by  Ham- 
brino,  2:21J  (by  Edward  Everett),  out  of  Trotting 
Sister,  by  Alexander's  Abdallah. 

Of  the  other  more  noted  Calif ornian  families,  I  need 
only  speak  very  briefly  concerning  their  general 
characteristics. 

The  St.  Clairs  are  compact,  smooth  horses,  gaited 


328  TKAINING    THE   TROTTING    HORSE. 

much  like  the  Electioneers,  and  they  all  had  some 
degree  of  speed.  They  have  good  legs  and  feet,  are 
easily  kept,  and  are  naturally  hardy.  The  famil}^  of 
the  old  pacer,  whose  history  I  have  already  given,  first 
came  into  notice  as  excellent  work-horses.  Eailway 
contractors  would  take  them  in  preference  to  any 
other  breed  for  work. 

The  family  of  George  M.  Patchen  Jr.,  2:27,  showed 
excessive  knee-action,  and  indeed  lots  of  action  all 
ground.  A  great  many  of  them  were  gross,  coarse 
horses ;  but  judiciously  crossed  the  blood  is  a  valuable 
strain. 

The  Belmonts  were  in  form  more  like  trotting-horses 
than  race-horses,  and  some  of  them  did  trot  and  pro- 
duce trotters.  Owen  Dale  and  Don  Victor  both  had  a 
fair  degree  of  trotting-action.  The  latter  I  saw  trot  a 
mile  in  3:12  at  twenty  3^ ears  old,  and  few  thorough- 
breds can  do  that.  He  was  a  fair  race-horse,  but  was 
afterward  used  as  a  doctor's  hack.  Mrs.  Marvin 
drove  him  in  his  late  3^ears,  and  found  him  a  good 
road-horse.  Williamson's  Belmont,  the  founder  of  the 
family,  was  a  thoroughbred  son  of  American  Bov,  and 
was  brought  to  California  in  1853,  and  died  in  1865. 
He  left  a  great  family,  both  as  race-horses  and  general 
road-horses.  This  is  a  favorite  strain  in  California, 
and  a  trotting-pedigree  can  have  no  better  foundation 
to  rest  on  than  Belmont  blood. 

The  Moor  founded  one  of  the  greatest  of  California 
families — horses  noted  for  good,  clean,  sound  legs  and 
feet,  solid  colors  and  excellent  form.  The  Moors  are 
uniformly  trotters,  and,  as  a  rule,  are  game,  resolute 
horses.     They  are  generally  built  on  the   greyhound 


THE    MOOR    AND    NUTWOOD.  329 

order,  the  most  objectionable  feature  being  their 
heads,  which  are  often  large,  and  nearly  always  of  the 
Roman  order.  Many  of  them  are  strong-Avilled  and 
rattle-headed.  The  most  noted  descendants  of  The 
Moor  are  his  daughter  Beautiful  Bells,  his  grandson 
Stamboul,  and  Sable  Wilkes,  whose  dam  was  a 
daughter  of  The  Moor.  The  blood  of  The  Moor  is  a 
grand,  speedy,  fashionable  strain  in  a  pedigree,  and 
one  that  is  now  widely  appreciated.  He  died  young, 
leaving  few  foals,  but  had  in  him  the  elements  of 
greatness. 

Xutwood  spent  part  of  his  life  in  California,  but  had 
few  good  mares  here.  He  left  an  excellent  family  on 
the  coast,  considering  the  number  and  class  of  m.are& 
he  had.  Like  every  family  that  has  ever  showed 
speed  enough  to  excite  criticism,  the  Xutwoods  at  first 
had  the  reputation  of  "  stopping,"  and  if  it  were  true 
it  would  be  no  discredit  to  the  horse,  for  that  horse 
has  not  yet  lived  that  can  get  uniformly  good  horses 
out  of  inferior  mares.  But  I  have  not  discovered  the 
"stop"  among  the  Xutwoods.  Woodnut  did  not  seem 
to  stop  to  any  great  extent.  The  fact  is  that  the  Xut- 
woods  are  one  of  the  very  best  trotting  families  we 
have,  and  his  daughters  are  highl}^  valued,  and 
properly  so,  as  brood-mares  in  California. 

The  famous  Guy  Wilkes  is  hardly  yet  old  enough  ta 
speak  of  with  confidence  as  a  sire ;  but  w^e  all  know  he 
was  a  good  race-horse  himself,  and  in  Lillian  Wilkes, 
Eegal  Wilkes  and  Sable  Wilkes  he  has  got  youngsters 
that  mark  him  as  probably  one  of  the  great  coming 
sires.  In  the  opinion  of  many  good  judges  he  is  the 
best  of  all  Wilkes  horses. 


330  TRAINING  thp:  tkotting  horse. 

1  have  had  Httle  opportunity  to  form  an  opinion 
concerning  the  Blackbird  family.  The  A.  W.  Rich- 
monds  were  certainly  hardy  horses,  bat  there  were  not 
many  natural  trotters  among  them,  though  those  that 
were  good  were  real  good.  The  famous  mare  Colum- 
bine, by  A.  AY.  Richmond,  had  considerable  speed,  and 
being  the  dam  of  Anteeo,  2:1 6 J,  and  Antevolo,  2:1 9|^, 
has  the  distinction  of  being  the  only  mare  that  has 
ever  produced  two  stallions  with  records  of  2:20  or 
better. 

This  book  would  not  seem  complete  without  some 
historical  sketch  of  the  American  trotting-horse,  for 
the  benefit  of  such  of  my  readers  as  have  not  studied 
the  subject  from  a  historical  standpoint.  But  I  have 
traveled  over  a  pretty  long  road,  and,  having  endeav- 
ored to  the  best  of  my  ability  to  do  my  part,  I  will 
hand  over  the  history  to  my  co-worker,  Mr.  Macleod, 
and  thanking  all  my  readers  for  the  compliment  of 
their  attention,  will,  with  the  sincerest  wishes  for  the 
trotting-horse  and  all  his  friends,  in  the  present  and  the 
future,  make  my  retiring  bow. 


APPENDIX.  331 


APPENDIX. 


THE    TROTTING-HORSE    HISTORICALLY    CONSIDERED. 

The  trotting-horse  may  in  all  propriety  be  designated  tlie  national 
horse  of  xlmerica,  just  as  tlie  tlioroughbred  race-horse  is  the  national 
horse  of  Great  Britain.  In  England  the  race-horse  has  reached  his 
highest  development,  and  if  the  race-horses  of  other  countries  have 
excelled,  it  has  been  in  a  great  degree  through  the  influence  of  liberal 
drafts  of  English  blood.  In  like  manner,  but  in  greater  degree,  the 
trotting-horse  is  the  national  horse  of  America.  He  is  distinctively 
and  peculiarly  an  American  production.  In  no  other  land  has  the 
trotter  been  generally  bred;  in  no  other  land  has  he  been  brought  to 
high  development  as  a  breed,  nor  in  any  other  land  has  he  been 
accepted  and  utilized  as  specially  and  superiorly  adapted  to  the  every- 
day uses  of  the  people.  It  is  true  that  Russia  has  her  Orloff  trotters; 
that  writers  speak  of  "Norfolk  trotters"  in  England  a  century  ago, 
and  that  in  France,  Austria  and  Australia  native  horses  race  at  the 
trotting-gait,  though  they  never  approach  the  speed  of  the  American 
trotter.  Though  vastly  superior  to  any  trotter  of  foreign  origin — or 
perhaps  it  would  be  more  correct  to  call  him  the  only  trotter  of  for- 
eign origin — the  OrlofE  does  not  hold  the  place  in  the  sporting  and 
business  affairs  of  the  Russian  people  held  by  the  American  trotting- 
bred  horse  in  this  country.  As  to  the  "Norfolk  trotters"  of  Eng- 
land, the  more  that  is  learned  of  them  the  less  certain  can  we  be  that 
it  is  at  all  correct  to  regard  them  as  a  breed  of  trotters.  It  can  of 
course  be  shown  that  some  of  them  had  speed  at  the  trot  far  superior 
to  that  of  the  ordinary  English  horse;  but  this  hardly  entitles  the 
variety  to  be  called  a  breed  of  trotters,  but  rather,  to  be  classed  as 
suitable  raw  material  from  which,  by  selection  and  development 
through  a  series  of  generations,  a  trottiug-breed  might  have  been 
evolved. 


832  TRAINING    THE   TROTTING    HORSE. 

It  is  to  be  remembered,  in  discu  sing  tlie  trotter  from  the  stand- 
point of  tlie  average  American  farmer,  tliat  be  is  something  more 
than  a  racing-animal.  He  is  the  ideal  horse  of  business  and  pleasure. 
No  driving-horse  in  the  world  rivals  the  trotting-bred  horse,  and  they 
range  in  size  from  the  neatest  style  of  light-harness  animal  to  coach- 
ing stature.  The  horse  best  adapted  to  the  uses  of  the  American 
farmer,  and  the  average  American  citizen  who  uses  horses  at  all,  is 
the  one  that,  with  other  essentials,  combines  quick,  far-reaching, 
well-balanced  action  with  the  endurance  to  sustain  speed  at  high 
rates  and  long  distances.  These,  too,  are  the  qualities  primarily  re- 
quired in  a  horse  for  racing  purposes,  and  thus  the  blood  best  for  the 
trotting-turf  is  the  best  blood  from  which  to  breed  the  horse  of  the 
road,  the  park  and  the  boulevard — the  horse  for  the  lightest  single 
driving  equipage,  for  the  family  phaeton  or  for  double  harness. 
Qualities  required  for  these  eminently  proper  purposes  are  produced 
in  the  highest  degree  by  the  best  trotting-blood.  We  can  only  deter- 
mine what  the  best  trotting-blood  is  by  the  measure  of  turf  tests  and 
turf  history.  The  fact  should  not  be  forgotten  by  those  who  may 
have  no  interest  in  the  American  trotter  in  a  turf  sense  that  the  value 
of  the  light-harness  horse  rests  in  a  large  degree  upon  the  purity  and 
quality  of  his  blood,  and  that  the  worth  of  blood  can  only  be  deter- 
mined by  what  it  has  accomplished  under  the  turf  test. 

To  persons  accustomed  to  horses  the  differences  of  the  various 
gaits  are  familiar,  but  to  fix  them  clearly  in  the  mind  is  a  first  neces- 
sity in  studying  the  subject  of  breeding  horses  in  which  value 
depends  on  speed  at  a  certain  gait.  The  walk,  the  trot  or  the  pace, 
and  the  gallop  are  gaits  common  to  all  breeds.  The  pace,  or  amble, 
is  a  gait  kindred  to  the  trot  and  is  a  faster  gait  than  the  trot.  The 
order  of  movement  in  the  trot  is  left  fore  foot,  right  hind  foot, 
right  fore  foot,  left  hind  foot.  Thus  the  left  fore  and  right  hind 
foot  move  in  unison,  striking  the  ground  together;  then  in  turn 
right  fore  foot  and  left  hind  foot  complete  the  revolution,  and, 
therefore,  the  trot  is  properly  called  the  "diagonal  gait."  The 
pacer,  like  the  trotter,  moves  two  feet  in  the  same  direction  simul- 
taneously, then  alternates  with  the  other  two,  but  in  place  of  the 
fore  leg  and  the  hind  leg  of  opposite  sides,  he  moves  in  unison 
the  fore  and  hind  leg  of  one  side,  then  the  fore  and  hind  leg  of 
the  other  side.  Thus  we  call  the  pace  the  "  lateral  gait."  The  dif- 
ference of  the  gaits  is  not  great;  the  mechanism  is  practically  the 
same.      The   fact    that   the    same  animals  pace  and   trot   fast,  that 


APPENDIX.  666 

\)iicing  parents  beget  trotting  progeny,  and  vice  versa,  and  that  both 
gaits  frequently  seem  natural  to  the  same  animal  demonstrates  that 
they  are  but  variations  of  the  same  gait,  occupying  in  the  economy 
of  action  a  place  between  the  walk  and  the  gallop.  The  fast  gallop, 
•or  run,  is  an  entirely  different  gait;  each  leg  acts,  as  it  were,  inde- 
pendently. To  begin  the  revolution  the  horse  makes  his  bound  with 
the  left  fore  foot  the  last  to  leave  the  ground;  then  for  a  moment 
he  is  entirely  in  the  air,  with  his  four  feet  rather  bunched,  and 
when  he  strikes  ground  again  it  is  first  with  his  right  hind  foot;  then 
ii  moment  more,  and  he  is  poised  on  the  left  fore  foot,  as  at  the 
beginning  of  the  revolution.  It  will  be  seen  that  this  gait  is  wholly 
-and  radically  different  from  the  pace  and  trot;  that  the  order  of 
action,  and,  necessarily,  the  mental  organization  governing  the 
method  of  locomotion  and  use  of  the  limbs  are  different.  Hence  no 
one  horse  is,  or  can  be,  possessed  of  great  speed  at  the  gallop,  and 
also  great  speed  at  the  trot  or  pace.  To  possess  great  speed  of 
either  one  of  these  two  orders  he  must  inherit  speed  of  that  order. 

Let  us  consider  for  a  moment  the  original  sources  ot  trotting 
speed  at  home  and  abroad. 

The  Orloff  trotters  are  the  fastest  of  foreign  breeds,  and  their 
history  is  therefore  of  interest.  In  1772,  Count  Alexis  Orloff,  a  com- 
mander in  the  Kussian  fleet,  obtained  from  a  Turkish  pasha  a  large 
white  Arab  or  Barb  horse  called  Smetanka.  From  a  Danish  mare 
Smetanka  got  Polkan,  and  from  a  Dutch  mare  Polkan  got  Barss,  the 
founder  of  the  Orloff  trotters.  It  will  be  noted  that  Barss  was  two 
removes  from  the  Oriental  horse,  and  carried  one-quarter  of  his 
blood.  The  fact  has  been  commented  upon  that  Andrew  Jackson, 
the  founder  of  our  Clay  family  of  trotters,  was  similarly  bred  ; 
that  is,  he  was  two  removes  from  the  imported  Barb,  Grand  Bashaw  , 
and,  like  Barss,  out  of  a  mare  of  unnamed  blood.  Count  Orloff,  it 
appears,  bred  the  Barss  blood  upon  itself,  and  a  writer,  speaking 
with  the  apparent  assurance  of  one  who  knows,  tells  us  that  "the 
race  became  a  distinct  type  in  about  thirty  years,  and  since  that 
period  all  attempts  to  improve  the  breed  by  fresh  blood,  whether 
Arab,  English,  French  or  Dutch  have  failed."  This  can  readily  be 
believed,  for  in  our  own  horse  history  we  find  its  corroboration  and 
analogy.  Count  Orloff  died  in  1808,  but  his  stud  was  kept  intact 
until  1845,  when  it  was  broken  up,  the  Russian  Imperial  Govern- 
ment becoming  the  owner  of  the  greater  part.  The  blood  and  per- 
formance   of   these   horses    have    been    carefully    recorded.     The 


d6i  TRAINING    THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 

liigliest  rate  of  speed  known  to  have  been  attained  by  an  OrlofE  was 
in  trotting  three  versts  in  five  minutes.  A  verst  being  l,166f  yards, 
it  will  be  seen  that  the  performance  was  at  the  rate  of  a  mile  in 
about  2:31i.  Though  some  specimens  of  the  Orloff  trotter  were 
brought  to  the  United  States,  meeting  trotting-blood  superior  to 
their  own,  they  naturally  failed  to  leave  their  mark  on  our  breed. 

The  only  reputed  trotters  mentioned  by  English  writers  were 
certain  horses  located  chiefly  in  the  county  of  Norfolk.  John  Law- 
rence, the  earliest  writer  who  mentions  them,  and  a  most  entertain- 
ing one,  declares  that  ' '  the  renowned  Blank  may  be  looked  upon  as 
the  father  of  trotters,  since  from  his  son  Shales  have  proceeded  the 
best  and  greatest  number  of  horses  of  that  qualification."  One  of  the 
most  famous  of  this  tribe  was  Marshland  Shales,  a  noted  trotter  that 
sold  for  over  3,000  guineas  at  auction  in  1812,  when  ten  years  old. 
Records  of  the  speed  of  these  old  English  trotters  are  indefinite  and 
uncertain,  but  it  is  said  that  a  mare  named  Phenomenon  trotted  in  July, 
1800,  seventeen  miles  in  56:00,  and  in  the  same  month  repeated  the 
performance  in  53:00.  If  this  be  true,  this  mare  was  the  superior  of 
any  American  trotter,  not  of  her  day  alone,  but  for  many  years  after 
her  day.  When  we  remember  that  this  was  at  the  rate  of  twenty 
miles  in  63:20,  and  that  it  was  not  until  1849  that  Trustee,  in  America, 
covered  twenty  miles  in  59:35|,  the  conclusion  is  forced  upon  us  that 
the  English  had  the  material  from  which  to  build  and  evolve  a  great 
breed  of  trotters.  That  they  have  nothing  equal  to  Phenomenon  in 
these  days  is  certain,  and  the  cause  of  this  retrogression  is  probably 
that  the  trotting  instinct  and  action  in  the  horses  of  the  olden  time 
has  been  submerged  by  repeated  infusions  of  running-blood,  just  as 
the  ancient  English  pacer  disappeared  before  the  tides  of  Oriental 
blood  upon  which  the  English  thoroughbred  is  founded.  The  chief 
and,  indeed,  only  interest  attaching  to  the  Norfolk  trotter  is  in  the 
fact  thai  it  is  practically  certain  that  imported  Bellfounder,  the  sire 
of  the  dam  of  Rysdyk's  Hambletonian,  the  greatest  of  all  American 
trotting  progenitors,  was  one  of  this  tribe.  This  horse  was  imported 
from  England  in  1822,  and  was  a  powerful  animal  with  gigantic 
quarters,  showy  trotting  action,  and  kindly  disposition.  Hamble- 
tonian bore  much  resemblance  to  him  in  form  and  disposition. 

So  much  for  foreign  trotters — now  as  to  the  American  breed.  The 
imported  horse  whose  blood  played  the  most  important  part  in  found- 
ing the  trotting-breed  in  the  United  States,  was  the  grey  race-horse  Mes- 
senger.    Ever  since  trotting-speed  began  to  be  considered  a  mark  of 


APPENDIX.  335 

merit  in  tlie  American  horse,  Messenger  lias  been  admitted  the  chief 
foundation  on  which  the  greatest  trotting  families  have  been  built.  But 
just  as  the  English  race  horse  was  founded  on  Oriental  blood,  and  in 
years  of  selection  and  development  for  a  special  purpose  was  bred  to 
a  point  of  excellence  unknown  to  the  Oriental,  so  the  most  unpre- 
tentious trotting-blood  of  to-day  is  superior  to  what  the  direct  blood 
of  Messenger  vvas. 

The  speed-transmitting  power  of  Messenger,  if  it  could  be  now 
drawn  upon  directly,  would  be  a  weak  and  sluggish  element  in  the 
swift  and  intense  speed  currents  of  to-day.  Still  none  the  less  did  it 
play  its  part  as  an  original  source. 

Messenger  was  a  grey  horse  foaled  in  1780,  bred  by  John  Pratt  of 
Newmarket,  England,  and,  according  to  the  English  Stud-Book,  was 
got  by  Mambrino,  out  of  a  daughter  of  Turf.  Mambrino  was  by 
Engineer,  son  of  Sampson,  by  Blaze,  by  Flying  Childers,  son  of  the 
Darley  Arabian,  a  horse  imported  into  England  from  the  Levant,  in 
the  reign  of  Queen  Anne.  Turf,  the  reputed  sire  of  the  dam  of  Mes- 
senger, was  by  Matchem,  son  of  Cade,  by  the  Godolphin  Arabian. 

Messenger  was  a  fair  race-horse  but  was  not  strictly  thoroughbred, 
and  when  we  reflect  what  he  accomplished  in  the  production  of  horses 
of  speed  superior  to  any  of  their  day  at  the  trotting-gait,  we  are  almost 
irresistibly  forced  to  the  conclusion  that  in  the  streams  of  unknown 
and  uncertain  blood  remotely  pouring  into  his  inheritance  some  subtle 
influence  was  carried  that  favored  the  trotting-gait.  Indeed  this  is 
not  mere  speculation,  but  history;  for  in  Pick's  Turf  Eegister  we  find 
this  statement  concerning  Mambrino,  the  sire  of  Messenger:  "  Mam- 
brino was  likewise  sire  of  a  great  many  excellent  hunters  and  strong, 
useful  road-horses.  And  it  has  been  said  that  from  his  blood  the 
breed  of  horses  for  the  coach  was  brought  nearly  to  perfection." 

Messenger  was  imported  to  Philadelphia  in  1788;  was  kept  in 
Pennsylvania  and  New  Jersey  for  the  first  six  years  of  his  life  in 
America,  and  was  variously  kept  on  Long  Island,  in  Dutchess,  West- 
chester and  Orange  Counties,  New  York,  and  in  New  Jersey,  until  his 
death  near  Oyster  Bay,  Long  Island,  in  1808.  As  to  what  degree  of 
trotting-action  Messenger  possessed  we  have  no  evidence;  but  this 
much  is  certain,  that  he  left  progeny  noted  for  their  speed  and  endur- 
ance on  the  road,  and  when  in  these  descendants  this  road-gait  was 
developed  and  intensified  by  use — and  they  were  mated  with  a  view 
to  producing  progeny  superior  in  this  special  qualification  to  them- 
selves— each  generation  naturally  reached  a  higher  plane  of  excel- 
lence than  its  predecessors. 


336  TRAINING    THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 

Though  in  the  second  and  third  generations  we  find  many  descend- 
ants of  Messenger  noted  as  trotters  in  their  time,  and  figuring  fre- 
quently in  the  trotting  genealogies  of  our  day,  it  is  incompatible  with 
the  purposes  and  extent  of  this  article  to  consider  any  but  the  chief 
lines — those  upon  which  the  place  in  history  of  Messenger's  blood  as 
a  source  of  the  greatest  trotting-families  chiefly  depend.  His  three 
most  noted  sons  were  Winthrop  Messenger,  Bishop's  Hambletonian 
and  Mambrino. 

Winthrop  Messenger  was  taken  to  Maine  in  1816,  and  was  the 
founder  of  that  sterling  race  frequently  spoken  of  as  the  Maine  Mes- 
sengers. He  was  a  large,  coarse  horse,  and  was,  I  judge,  very  little 
appreciated  in  his  time.  Among  the  best  descendants  was  his  son 
Witherell  Messenger,  sire  of  Belle  of  Portland,  2:26.  A  daughter  of 
Witherell  Messenger,  mated  with  a  son  of  his,  produced  the  famous 
Belle  Strickland,  2:26.  Six  other  daughters  figure  in  the  records  as 
the  dams  of  trotters  with  records  faster  than  2:30.  Fanny  Pullen, 
daughter  of  Winthrop  Messenger,  was  a  great  trotter  in  her  time, 
and  to  imported  Trustee  she  produced  the  famous  Trustee  that 
trotted  in  1848  twenty  miles  in  59:35^.  He  was  the  first  horse  to  trot 
twenty  miles  within  the  hour;  to  this  day  only  six  have  done  it,  and 
it  is  earnestly  to  be  desired  by  every  decent  horseman  that  no  horse 
will  ever  again  be  subjected  to  this  cruel  exaction. 

Bishop's  Hambletonian,  originally  called  Hambletonian,  was  a  bay 
horse,  foaled  1804,  bred  by  General  Coles,  at  Dosoris,  Long  Island, 
and  was  by  imported  Messenger,  out  of  Pheasant,  by  imported  Shark. 
He  was  a  race-horse  quite  nearly  first  class,  especially  at  long  dis- 
tances, being  successful  at  four  miles.  He  was  the  best  of  all  Mes- 
senger's progeny  as  a  race-horse,  if  we  except  Miller's  Damsel,  the 
dam  of  American  Eclipse.  As  a  sire  of  trotters  and  trotting-progeni- 
tors  he  won  distinction.  One  of  the  most  gifted  of  early  turf  writers, 
who  wrote  with  singular  severity  of  this  horse,  conceded  that  "he 
got  some  excellent  roadsters,  good  trotters,"  but  probably  in  so 
speaking  of  the  race-horse  the  writer  meant  to  be  anything  but 
complimentary. 

Among  the  progeny  of  Bishop's  Hambletonian,  the  most  distin- 
guished on  the  trotting-turf  were  the  famous  Whalebone,  and 
another  early  trotter  of  less  note,  Sir  Peter.  In  1830  and  1831  the 
former  ranked  with  the  best  of  his  day  as  a  long  distance  trotter,  and 
has  to  his  credit  a  performance  of  thirty-two  miles  in  1:58:05.  Daugh- 
ters of  Bishop's  Hambletonian  produced  Paul  Fry  and  Topgallant, 


APPENDIX.  337 

botli  being  by  otlier  sons  of  Messenger,  and  tliey  were  the  first  trot- 
ters of  their  time.  The  latter  trotted  three  miles  in  8:11  in  1829. 
The  most  noted  progenitors  of  trotters  left  by  Bishop's  Hambletonian 
were  his  sons,  Harris'  Hambletonian  and  Judson's  Hambletonian. 
The  former  sired  Green  Mountain  Maid,  2:28^;  Hero,  pacing- record, 
2:20i,  and  others  of  less  note.  A  son  of  his  sired  Joker,  2:224,  and 
fix  of  his  daughters  have  produced  trotters.  Maj.  Edsall,  the  sire  of 
Robert  McGregor,  2:17i^,  was  out  of  a  daughter  of  Harris'  Hamble- 
tonian, as  was  also  Curler,  Stillson,  and  other  sires  of  note  yet  living. 
Judson's  Hambletonian  was  less  distinguished  than  Harris',  but  his 
blood  enters  into  several  lines,  the  most  prominent  being  through  his 
son,  Andrus'  Hambletonian,  the  sire  of  the  trotting-mare.  Princess, 
that,  after  meeting  the  best  campaigners  of  her  day,  from  the  Pacific 
to  the  Atlantic,  made  still  more  firm  her  rank  in  the  records  as  the 
dam  of  Happy  Medium,  one  of  the  greatest  trotting- sires  the  world 
has  yet  produced. 

Coming  to  Mambrino,  in  a  trotting-sense  the  greatest  son  of  Mes- 
senger, we  reach  the  keystone  of  our  subject,  for  from  his  loins  came 
two  lines,  the  greatest  in  all  trotting-history.  One  son  of  Mambrino 
gave  us  the  sterling  Mambrino  Chief  family  of  trotters;  another  got 
Rysdyk's  Hambletonian,  far  and  away  the  greatest  of  all  trotting- 
progenitors.  The  latter  founded  a  trotting-family  with  which  none 
can  compare,  and  to  which  none  approach,  and  his  blood  has,  it  is 
truly  said,  "raised  the  trotting-horse  of  America  to  the  highest  point 
of  excellence."  Mambrino  Paymaster,  son  of  Mambrino,  sired  Mam- 
brino Chief,  the  founder  of  the  Mambrino  trotting-family. 

Mambrino  was  a  bay  horse,  foaled  1806,  bred  by  Lewis  Morris,  of 
"Westchester,  New  York,  and  was  by  Messenger,  out  of  a  daughter 
of  imported  Sour  Crout.  He  never  raced,  and  was  so  little  valued  that 
history  loses  trace  of  him  for  part  of  his  career.  He  died  in  Dutchess 
County  in  or  about  1831.  He  was  a  large,  coar&e,  leggy  horse,  with 
Avell-defined  trotting-action. 

His  son  Abdallah  was  bred  by  John  Treadwell,  Salisbury,  Long 
Island,  and  was  foaled  in  1823,  his  dam  being  Amazonia,  a  trotting- 
mare  of  unknown  blood.  He  was  an  unattractive  rat-tailed  horse,  of 
vicious  temper,  and  was  little  valued  at  any  time.  So  lightly  was 
he  thought  of  in  Orange  County,  so  a  writer  states,  that  he  wintered 
one  year  with  no  better  shelter  than  the  leeward  side  of  a  hay-stack 
within  sight  of  the  spot  where  his  son  Hambletonian  afterward  lived 
in  honor.     Finally  cast  off,  he  was  given  to  a  Long  Island  farmer. 


338  TRAINING    THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 

who  sold  liim  to  a  fislierman  for  |35.  The  fislierman  tried  to  harness 
him,  but  age  had  not  subdued  his  ungovernable  spirit,  and  he  re- 
belled with  such  violence  that  he  was  turned  out  and  diea  of  neglect 
and  famine  on  the  sandy  beach  of  Long  Island.  This  was  in 
November,  1854.  He  had  trotted  a  mile  in  3:10,  it  is  stated  as  a  four- 
year-old,  and  considering  that  he  never  was  broken,  that  this  was  his 
natural  gait,  it  must  be  conceded  he  had  some  gift  of  speed. 

Abdallah,  as  we  have  seen,  got  Rysdyk's  Hambletonian  out  of  the 
Charles  Kent  mare,  by  imported  Bellfounder,  a  reputed  Norfolk 
trotter,  and  the  Kent  mare's  dam  was  One  Eye,  by  Bishop's  Hamble- 
tonian, son  of  Messenger.  Besides  this  greatest  of  trotting  progeni- 
tors, Abdallah  got  three  trotters  with  records  of  2:30  or  better;  many 
of  his  daughters  produced  trotters,  and  sires  and  dams  of  trotters, 
and  others  of  his  sons  contributed  in  minor  degrees  to  trotting- 
lines, 

Hambletonian  was  foaled  in  1849,  and  was  that  year  bought,  with 
his  dam,  by  William  M.  Rysdyk,  of  Chester, Orange  County,  New  York, 
who  owned  him  until  he  died.  He  was  a  bay  horse  of  excellent 
structure,  but  very  plain,  the  large  head  and  Roman  face  especially 
rendering  him  objectionable  to  the  eye  of  the  lover  of  form.  Mr. 
Rysdyk  never  was  anxious  to  show  the  speed  of  his  horse,  but  that 
he  possessed  fair  trotting  capacity  abundant  evidence  from  many  wit- 
nesses demonstrates.  As  a  three-year-old  he  trotted  in  public  in  2:48, 
and,  considering  the  time  and  circumstances,  it  marked  him  as  a 
great  natural  trotter.  This  world-famous  progenitor  died  March  27, 
.1876. 

Nothing  but  the  record-book  of  the  trotting-turf — the  Year-Book — 
sutRces  to  adequately  credit  the  Hambletonian  family  with  all  it  has 
accomplished  on  the  trotting-turf,  but  to  put  the  aggregate  in  brief 
form  I  may  say  that  forty  of  the  sons  and  daughters  of  Hambletonian 
have  mile  records  ranging  from  the  2:17^  of  Dexter  to  the  2:30  of 
Lady  Augusta;  more  than  one  hundred  of  Hambletonian's  sons  have 
sired,  in  the  aggregate,  upward  of  600  trotters,  with  records  from 
2:08f  to  2:30,  and  about  fifty  of  his  daughters  are  the  dams  of  trotters 
ranging  in  speed  from  2:12i:  to  2:30.  Hambletonian's  sons  are 
Alexander's  Abdallah,  Aberdeen,  Dictator,  Edward  Everett,  Elec- 
tioneer, Egbert,  George  Wilkes,  Happy  Medium,  Harold,  Jay  Gould, 
Masterlode,  Messenger  Duroc,  Middletown,  Sentinel,  Strathmore, 
Sweepstakes  and  Volunteer.  These  are  not  only  great  sires,  but  most 
of  them  the  heads  of  great  sub-families.     To  follow  these  several 


APPENDIX.  339 

lines  down-^ard  tlirougli  successive  generations  with  any  degree  of 
fullness  would  be  wearisome  to  the  reader  and  would  involve  an 
array  of  statistical  tables  not  within  the  scope  of  this  article.  In 
general  terms,  however,  it  may  be  stated  that  the  Hambletonian  sub- 
families founded  by  Alexander's  Abdallah,  Electioneer,  George 
Wilkes,  Happy  Medium,  Harold  and  Volunteer  are  the  most  highly 
esteemed,  because  the  most  productive.  Alexander's  Abdallah  got 
Goldsmith  Maid,  2:14,  the  greatest  of  campaigning  mares,  and  he  got 
Almont,  one  of  the  greatest  trotting-sires  of  any  age,  and  Belmont, 
little  less  noted,  he  having  produced  Nutwood,  2:18f,  and  Wedge- 
wood,  2:19,  both  renowned  on  the  turf  and  in  the  stud.  George 
Wilkes  was  a  king  on  the  turf  in  his  day,  and  to-day  holds  higher 
rank  as  a  trotting  progenitor  than  any  other  horse,  living  or  dead,  if 
we  except  Hambletonian  himself  and  his  greatest  son  Electioneer. 

Mambrino  Chief,  the  head  of  the  family  that  ranks  next  to  that  of 
Hambletonian,  was  foaled  in  Dutchess  County,  Xew  York,  in  1844,  and 
was  got  by  Mambrino  Paymaster,  son  of  Mambrino,  from  a  mare 
whose  blood  lines  are  lost  in  the  "mists  of  the  West."  Mambrino 
Chief  was  a  fast  trotter,  and  he  got  six  trotters  that  made  records  of 
2:30  or  better,  the  most  renowned  being  the  famous  Lady  Thorn, 
2:18^,  and  his  sons  and  daughters  are  successful  producers  of  trotters. 
His  best  sons  were  Woodford  Mambrino,  2:21;^,  Clark  Chief  and 
Mambrino  Patchen,  brother  to  Lady  Thorn.  The  blood  of  Mam- 
brino Chief,  like  that  of  the  Clays,  American  Stars,  and,  it  may  be 
said,  all  other  trotting  branches,  has  reached  its  greatest  triumphs 
when  blended  with  that  of  Hambletonian  and  his  sons  and 
daughters. 

The  Clay  family  of  trotters  was  founded  by  Andrew  Jackson,  a 
trotter  of  high  class  in  his  day.  He  was  a  son  of  Young  Bashaw,  a 
Barb  imported  from  Tripoli  in  1820.  Young  Bashaw's  dam  was  by 
the  race-horse  First  Con?ul,  and  his  grandam  was  by  Messenger. 
The  dam  of  Andrew  Jackson  was  a  mare  of  unknown  blood  that,  it 
is  said,  both  trotted  and  paced.  Andrew  Jackson  was  foaled  1827,  at 
Salem,  New  York,  and  died  at  Knightstown,  Pennsylvania,  in  1843. 
His  most  noted  sons,  as  trotting-sires,  were  Henry  Clay  and  Long 
Island  Black  Hawk,  and  some  of  his  get  were  creditable  performers. 
From  Henry  Clay  we  have  the  line  of  sires  known  through  several 
generations  by  the  name  of  Cassius  M.  Clay,  and  two  other  sons  of 
Henry  Clay,  besides  the  original  Cassius  M.  Clay,  are  known  as  trotters. 
Cassius  M.   Clay,    First,   got  George  M.    Patchen,   2:25|,   the  most 


3i0  TRAINING    THE    TROTTING    HORSE. 

famous  horse  of  the  Clav  line  and  the  founder  of  the  Patchen 
family. 

Other  noted  sires  of  the  Clav  line  are  Cassius  M,  Clay,  22;  his  son 
American  Clay,  Harry  Clay,  The  Moor,  and  his  son  Sultan,  etc.  The 
dam  of  Old  Henry  Clay  was  Surrey,  a  Canadian  trotting-mare  of 
unknown  blood.  The  whole  Clay  family  has  been  charged  with  a 
lack  of  stamina,  a  charge  unduly  pressed  and  exaggerated,  and  some 
theorists  imagine  they  find  an  explanation  in  the  blood  of  Surrey.  Be 
this  as  it  may,  Clay  blood,  as  an  auxiliary  to  Hambletonian  strains, 
has  produced  the  grandest  results.  Long  Island  Black  Hawk  was  a 
trotter  and  a  sire  of  some  merit.  The  best  line  from  him  is  through 
his  grandson,  the  great  Iowa  horse,  Green's  Bashaw.  The  dam  of 
Green's  Bashaw  was  a  half-sister  to  Eysdyk's  Hambletonian,  she 
being  out  of  the  Charles  Kent  mare  by  Bellfounder. 

The  next  noted  family  of  trotters,  the  Black  Hawks,  frequently 
called  Morgans,  properly  originated  in  Vermont  Black  Hawk,  a  horse 
whose  breeding  has  never  been  satisfactorily  established,  and  is  still 
seriously  questioned.  The  generally  accepted  version  is  that  he  was 
got  by  Sherman  Morgan,  son  of  Justin  Morgan,  a  pony-built  horse 
of  unknown  blood,  from  whose  loins  came  an  excellent  class  of  road- 
horses.  The  descendants  of  Justin  Morgan  had  the  showy,  trappy 
gait,  conformation  and  other  characteristics  that  find  their  counterpart 
in  certain  Canadian  families,  and  after  duly  weighing  all  the  facts 
presented  as  to  his  history,  I  think  the  most  reasonable  conclusion  is 
that  he  was  of  Canadian  descent. 

Vermont  Black  Hawk,  the  true  progenitor  of  the  so-called  Morgan 
family  of  trotters,  was  foaled  in  1833,  near  Durham,  New  Hampshire, 
and,  as  I  have  said,  is  represented  to  be  by  Sherman  Morgan.  He 
was  able  to  trot  close  to  2:40,  but  his  reputed  sire,  if  witnesses  speak 
truly,  ''  could  not  trot  fast  enough  to  go  to  mill."  From  Black  Hawk 
comes  the  Ethan  Allen  family,  the  Gen.  Knox  family,  and  other  less 
prominent  lines.  This  trotting-line  reaches  its  highest  plane  in  the 
family  of  Daniel  Laml)ert,  son  of  Ethan  Allen.  Daniel  Lambert 
must  be  ranked  little  inferior  as  a  producer  of  speed  to  any  horse  that 
ever  lived.  His  family  has  undoubtedly  suffered  through  injudicious 
crosses.  Had  his  blood  been  better  reinforced  with  the  Hambletonian 
strain,  supplying  certain  essentials  which  in  itself  is  lacking,  better 
results  would  have  been  produced.  It  is  important  to  note  that 
Daniel  Lambert's  dam  was  a  daughter  of  Abdallah,  the  sire  of  Rys- 
dyk's  Hambletonian,  and  from  this  fact,  coupled  with  the  knowledge 


APPENDIX.  341 

that  lie  is  infinitely  a  better  horse  than  his  sire,  and  moreover,  far 
better  than  any  horse  of  his  family,  the  reader  can  draw  his  own 
conclusions  as  to  what  influence  his  dam  exerted  in  making  him  what 
he  is. 

Now  I  have  briefly  outlined  the  four  chief  trotting-families — 
the  Hambletonians,  the  Mambrino  Chiefs,  the  Clays  and  the  Black 
Hawks.  Of  course  I  have  left  innumerable  minor  lines  untouched, 
but  I  cannot  well  complete  a  sketch  of  the  principal  elements  enter- 
ing into  the  trotting-blood  of  to-day,  without  touching  upon  the 
groups  of  families  of  pacing  origin. 

It  is  useless  to  discuss  the  origin  of  the  pacing  gait,  for  even  as 
horses  galloped  and  as  horses  trotted,  so  horses  paced  at  a  period 
"  whereof  the  memory  of  man  runneth  not  to  the  contrary,"  On  the 
frieze  of  the  Parthenon  at  Athens,  the  hand  of  the  sculptor  left  time- 
defying  evidence  that  the  pacer  was  known  in  Greece  when  she  was 
at  the  zenith  of  her  glory,  four  hundred  years  before  the  Christian 
era.  The  bronze  horses  of  Saint  Marks  in  Venice  were  cast  (probably 
about  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era)  in  the  pacing  attitude. 
During  the  Roman  regime  in  Britain,  we  are  told  that  the  ambulatara 
was  "perhaps  the  universal  and  traveling  pace  of  the  Romans." 
Fitz  Stephen,  a  monk  of  Canterbury,  wrting  in  the  twelfth  century, 
tells  us  that  at  Smithfield,  then  a  suburb  of  London,  on  Fridays 
"shows  were  held  of  well-bred  horses  exposed  for  sale,"  and  he  adds 
that  it  was  "pleasant  to  see  the  nags,  with  their  smooth  and  shiny 
coats,  smoothly  ambling  along."  In  1558,  Master  Blundeville,  one  of 
the  early  English  writers  on  the  horse,  said  :  * '  Some  men  have  a  breed 
of  great  horses,  meete  for  the  warre  and  to  serve  in  the  field;  others 
breed  ambling  horses  of  mean  stature  for  the  journey,  and  to  travel 
by  the  way.  Some  againe,  a  race  of  swift  runners  to  run  for  wagers," 
etc.  In  the  reign  of  Charles  II  a  great  impetus  was  given  to  racing, 
and  continual  importations  of  Eastern  blood  flowed  into  England. 
The  race-horse  was  forming  as  a  breed,  and  took  the  first  place  in 
the  affections  of  Englishmen.  Before  the  overwhelming  tides  of 
desert  blood  the  pacer  gradually  became  extinct  in  England,  until 
John  Lawrence  tells  us,  in  1809,  that  "the  people  have  lost  all 
remembrance  of  the  amble."  Indeed,  it  is  the  popular  belief, 
wholly  untenable,  however,  that  the  pacer  never  was  known  to  exist 
in  England.  At  the  time  of  the  founding  of  the  American  colonies, 
the  pacer  was  at  least  popular,  if  not  esteemed  patrician,  as  in  the 
early  days  ;  and  as  the  hor?'^  ^tock  of  the  colonies  came  chiefly  from 


342  TRAINING  THE  TROTTING  HORSE. 

England,  I  think  it  is  beyond  question  tliat  in  these  importations 
came  the  ancestors  of  the  American  and  Canadian  pacer.  The  horses 
of  Rhode  Island,  known  as  '' Narragansett  pacers,"  attained  wide 
celebrity  in  the  seventeenth  century,  and  the  pacer  was  the  race- 
horse of  the  Rhode  Islanders  and  Virginians  of  the  olden  times.  They 
were  one  of  the  great  staple  products  of  Rhode  Island  at  that  day, 
and  were  largely  exported.  But  in  time,  as  the  colonies  grew  in 
wealth,  the  pacer  was  scattered  and  crowded  out  by  larger,  better 
horses,  a  race  more  acceptably  suiting  the  requirements  of  the  people. 

The  names  of  the  families  of  pacing  origin  most  frequently  en- 
countered in  the  choice  blood-lines  of  our  modern  trotters  are  the 
Pilots,  the  Blue  Bulls,  the  Columbuses,  the  Hiatogas,  the  Copper- 
bottoms,  etc. 

The  originator  of  the  Pilot  family  was  a  black  pacing-horse  that, 
according  to  tradition  and  tradition  only,  came  from  Canada,  and  was 
probably  foaled  in  1826.  He  is  famous  as  the  sire  of  Pilot  Jr.,  a  grey 
horse  of  much  merit  as  a  trotter  and  sire  of  trotters.  The  blood  of 
his  dam  is  unknown.  He  evinced  the  rare  power  to  get  trotters  out 
of  running-mares,  and  two  of  his  fastest  and  best  were  out  of  mares 
so  bred.  Though  he  sired  nine  trotters  with  records  ranging  from 
2:24  to  2.30,  and  although  some  of  his  sons,  notably  Bayard  and 
Tattler,  have  proved  successful  sires,  it  is  through  the  triumphs  of 
his  daughters  as  brood-mares  that  he  is  most  esteemed.  They  are 
great  speed-producers,  among  the  produce  of  Pilot  Jr.  mares  being 
Maud  S.,  2.08f,  and  Jay-Eye- See,  2:10. 

The  marvelous  pacing-horse  Blue  Bull  is  the  phenomenon  of  trot- 
ting-horse  history.  "  A  plebeian  of  the  plebeians,"  got  by  a  horse  on 
whom  the  atrocious  name  the  family  bears  was  bestowed  as  a  mark 
of  opprobium,  a  cripple  with  not  a  line  of  distinguished  blood  to 
lend  him  worth,  from  ignominious  uses  he  rose  in  his  day,  by  sheer 
force  of  merit,  to  the  front  rank  of  trotting-sires.  This  remarkable 
horse  was  foaled  in  Switzerland  County,  Indiana,  in  1854,  and  died  at 
Rushville,  Indiana,  in  1880.  He  was  wonderfully  fast  at  the  pacing- 
gait,  and  even  after  being  crippled  could  show  great  flights  of  speed. 
For  several  recent  years  he  has  figured  as  the  sire  of  more  trotters 
than  any  horse  that  ever  lived,  and  it  was  only  during  1887  that  that 
honor  passed  from  him  to  George  Wilkes.  Over  fifty  of  his  get  have 
records  mnging  from  2  17i  to  2:30,  At  present,  while  we  can  rank 
Blue  3uil  as  a  ^ery  great  sire  of  speed,  I  am  not  very  sanguine  that 
the  future  will  rank  him  a  great  progenitor.     His  own  lack  of  breed- 


APPEXDIX.  343 

ing  and  tlie  lack  of  breeding  in  the  mares  to  whicli  lie  was  bred  are 
against  the  chances  of  his  tribe  taking  high  rank  as  a  family. 

Of  the  other  pacing-families  mentioned,  the  Columbuses  are  of 
Canadian  origin.  The  original  Columbus  came  from  a  town  in  the 
Province  of  Quebec  "thirty  or  forty  miles  below  Montreal."  From 
this  same  mysterious  region  came  St.  Lawrence,  another  Canadian 
trotting-sire,  and  to  the  blood  of  that  district  is  traced  lines  in  many 
of  our  famous  trotters. 

The  Hiatoga  family  traces  to  early  Virginia  pacing  ancestry.  The 
first  noted  horse  of  the  line  was  taken  to  Fairfield  County,  Ohio, 
about  1840,  is  known  as  Eice's  Hiatoga,  and  from  him  the  trotting- 
family  of  this  name  is  descended.  The  Copperbottoms,  a  noted 
pacing- family  that  figure  in  many  trotting  pedigrees,  were,  like  the 
Columbuses,  and  probably  the  Pilots,  it  is  believed,  of  Canadian 
origin.  The  original  was,  according  to  the  Trotting  Register,  taken 
from  Canada  to  Kentucky  in  1812. 

Another  Canadian  family  that  may  or  may  not  have  been  of  kindred 
blood  to  those  just  named,  but  a  family  far  superior  to  any  other  of 
Canadian  origin,  is  that  bearing  the  name  of  Royal  George.  The 
founder  of  this  line  was  Tippoo,  a  horse  whose  blood  is  unknown. 
Tippoo's  son.  Black  Warrior,  got  Royal  George,  and  from  this  line  a 
really  good  trotting-family  has  been  produced. 

A  tribe  that  has  held  a  foremost  place  in  turf  history  as  a  cross  for 
Hambletonian  blood  was  that  of  American  Star,  a  horse  that 
flourished  previous  to  and  in  the  early  part  of  the  career  of  Rysdyk's 
Hambletonian.  The  pedigree  of  this  horse  is  extremely  doubtful, 
but  he  was  a  trotter  of  some  merit.  From  great  numbers  of  his 
daughters  bred  to  Hambletonian,  a  goodly  proportion  of  trotters  came, 
but  the  family  lacked  the  capacity  to  transmit  speed  potently  from 
generation  to  generation,  and  its  only  standing,  as  a  trotting  line, 
rests  upon  what  Hambletonian  accomplished  from  its  daughters. 

I  have  traced  at  some  length  the  foundation  lines  of  blood  from 
which  the  trotters  of  to-day  are  bred,  and  every  well-bred  trotter  of 
this  generation  traces  directly  to  one  or  more  of  these  families. 

Just  when  racing,  at  either  the  running,  the  trotting,  or  the  pacing 
gait  began  in  America  is  difficult  to  determine.  It  is  reasonably  cer- 
tain that  pacers  were  bred  for  speed  and  raced,  notably  in  Rhode 
Island,  in  the  last  decades  of  the  seventeenth  century.  Pacing  races 
were  held  in  and  about  Philadelphia,  and  were  indulged  in  between 
the  gentry  of   Rhode  Island  and  Virginia  early  in  the  eighteenth 


344  TRAINING    THE   TROTTING    HORSE. 

century.  The  first  running  races  of  wliicli  we  have  any  trace  in 
history  were  established  by  Governor  Nicholls,  and  were  held  on 
Hempstead  Heath,  Long  Island.  In  1665,  he  established  a  race-course 
here,  and  ordered  that  a  plate  should  be  run  for  every  year.  (Be  it 
remembered  that  there  were  no  thoroughbreds  in  those  days;  Fear- 
naught  and  Jolly  Eoger,  the  best  of  the  early  importations  of  English 
thoroughbreds,  did  not  see  ximerica  for  nearly  or  quite  a  hundred 
years  after  this,  and  they  were  among  the  first  to  come.)  We  find 
that,  in  1669,  Governor  Lovelace,  who  succeeded  Governor  Nicholls, 
ordered  races  to  be  run  on  Hempstead  Heath,  but  from  that  year  to 
1736  history,  as  to  racing  here,  is  silent.  After  this,  racing  at  proba- 
bly all  gaits  flourished  until  it  seems  to  have  become  an  evil.  "  There 
was  no  end,"  says  one  historian,  "to  scrub  and  pace-racing  in  all 
parts  of  the  middle  and  southern  colonies,  and  particularly  on  the 
good  and  shaded  roads  of  Manhattan  Island."  In  1774,  the  Conti- 
nental Congress,  by  resolution,  practically  forbid  horse-racing;  and, 
in  1748,  the  Legislature  of  New  Jersey  enacted  a  law  restraining  all 
"running,  pacing  and  trotting-races. " 

The  first  recorded  trotting  performance  in  America  was  that  of 
Yankee,  at  Harlem,  New  York,  July  6,  1806.  The  time  of  the  mile  was 
2:50,  but  the  track  was  not  a  full  mile.  At  Philadelphia,  August, 
1810,  a  "  Boston  horse"  trotted  the  mile  to  harness  in  2:48i,  but  the 
next  best  performance  I  find  is  in  1818,  and  then  the  time  is  only 
3:00.  To  estimate  the  progress  in  speed  made  by  the  trotter  in  con- 
sequence of  his  being  bred  for  his  special  purpose  we  must  approxi- 
mate his  extreme  speed  at  the  beginning  of  the  founding  of  the 
breed.  If  we  take  for  granted  that  Yankee  could  trot  in  3:00  in 
1806,  in  contrast  with  the  2:08f  of  Maud  S.  in  1885,  we  have  a  dif- 
ference of  O-.oli  in  seventy-nine  years.  But  it  would  be  erroneous  to 
conclude  that  the  extreme  speed  capacity  of  the  trotter  of  to-day  is 
0:50  to  the  mile  over  that  of  the  trotter  of  eighty  years  ago. 
Improved  tracks,  appliances  and  methods  have  accomplished  much. 
If  we  could  approximate  just  how  much  of  the  improvement  in  speed 
is  due  to  the  improved  tracks,  appliances  and  methods,  we  could  then 
give  to  improved  blood  its  share  of  credit.  Guarding,  then,  against 
the  error  of  giving  all  the  honor  to  superiority  of  blood,  let  us 
note,  step  by  step,  the  improvement  in  the  extreme  speed  of  the 
trotter. 

From  the  performances  above  noted  I  think  it  fair  to  approximate 
the  extreme  speed  of  the  trotter  previous  to  1820,  at  2:50  to  the  mile. 


APPENDIX.  345 

in  harness.  From  that  date  recorded  performances  are  plentiful,  and 
furnish  us  a  safe  guide.  In  1829,  Topgallant  went  three  miles  in 
8:11,  and  this  sustained  speed  at  the  rate  of  2:43f  is  certainly  better 
than  a  mile  in  2:40.  In  1834,  the  black  gelding,  Edwin  Forrest, 
went  a  mile  under  the  saddle  in  2:3U;  in  1839,  Drover  paced  in  2  gs! 
In  1844,  Lady  Suffolk  trotted,  under  saddle,  in  2 -261;  in  the  same 
year  Unknown  paced  to  wagon  in  2^23.  In  the  next  decade  Flora 
Temple  trotted  in  2:19f,  and  in  the  next  decade  the  marvelous  pacing 
mare  Pocahontas  went  the  mile,  to  harness,  in  2:17^.  The  stars  of 
the  following  decade  were  Dexter,  2:17f,  by  Hambletonian,  and  Lady 
Thorn,  2:18^,  by  Mambrino  Chief.  In  the  next  period,  Goldsmith 
Maid,  2:14,  by  Alexander's  Abdallah;  Hopeful,  2:14f,  by  Godfrey 
Patchen;  Rarus,  2:13i,  by  Conklin's  Abdallah,  and  Lula,  2:15,  by 
Alexander's  Norman,  represented  the  limits  of  trotting  speed.  St. 
Julien,  by  Volunteer,  trotted  in  2:12^  in  1879,.  but  reached  his  limit, 
2:lli,  the  following  year.  In  1884,  Jay-Eye-See,  by  Dictator,  full 
brother  to  Dexter,  astonished  the  world  by  trotting  the  mile  in  2'10, 
but  the  next  year  Maud  S.,  by  trotting  in  2:08f ,  set  a  mark  of  speed 
in  harness  not  since  approached.  The  pacer  Johnston,  by  doing  the 
same  task  in  2:06i,  demonstrated  that  the  lateral  gait  is  still  the 
fastest,  and  in  the  past  year,  1889,  the  wonderful  performances  of  the 
three-year-old  stars,  Sunol,  by  Electioneer,  and  Axtell,  by  William 
L.,  son  of  George  Wilkes,  show  that  progress  does  not  lag.  Sunol 
trotted  in  2:10^,  and  Axtell  in  2:12.  Besides  these  we  have  Guy, 
trotting  in  1889  in  2:10f,  and  Stamboul  and  Palo  Alto  each  in  2:12^. 

But  we  have  been  dealing  in  the  performances  of  phenomenal  ani- 
mals. I  will  now,  by  taking  the  average  of  the  five  fastest  perform- 
ances for  each  decade  since  1820,  show  what  may  fairly  be  called  the 
extreme  speed  of  the  trotting-horse,  and  his  gradual  gain  in  speed 
since  the  beginning  of  fast  trotting. 

AVERAGE    EXTREME    SPEED. 

1820  to  1830 2:42 

1830  to  1840 ,.,,..,  2d5i 

1840  to  18o0 .*...'  2 :28i 

1850  to  1860 , !.*.!!.*  2:25 " 

1860  to  1870 ,,....  2:18f 

1870  to  1880 ['..'.'.[  2  :U 

1880  to  1889 .,.,..[.,.  2l0i 


3i6  TRAINING   THP:   TROTTING    HORSE. 

The  question  as  to  what  rate  of  speed  the  trotter  will  ultimately 
attain  lias  been  mucli  discussed,  and  some  liave  assumed  to  fix  the 
limit.  This  is  the  merest  speculation.  A  concensus  of  the  public 
opinion  of  horsemen  in  1860  would  have  fixed  the  limit  of  the 
trotter's  speed  at  Flora  Temple's  mark.  When  Ethan  Allen,  har- 
nessed with  a  runner,  went  a  mile  in  2:15  men  thought  it  would 
never  be  equaled,  and  the  popular  feeling  certainly  was  that  no  horse 
could  do  it  alone.  Only  a  little  over  twenty  years  ago  it  was  timidly 
that  Hiram  Woodruff  ventured  the  forecast  that  Dexter  would  beat 
Flora  Temple's  record,  but  to-day  a  gap  of  eleven  seconds  is  open 
between  Flora  Temple's  record  and  that  of  Maud  S.,  and  upward  of 
one  hundred  and  forty  horses  have  surpassed  Flora's  performances. 
In  vi€w  of  the  fact  that  the  trotting-breed  is  yet  in  its  infancy,  and 
that  the  average  of  extreme  trotting  speed  is  steadily  advancing 
toward  two  minutes,  it  would  be  rather  absurd  to  venture  to  fix  a 
limit  and  a  time  when  progress  will  suddenly  cease.  Of  course  im- 
provement in  speed  becomes  more  difficult  as  the  rate  increases,  but 
it  will  be  noticed  that  the  advance  toward  the  two-minute  goal  has 
been  just  as  great  in  the  past  decade  as  it  was  in  the  slower  decade 
that  preceded  it.  Both  trotters  and  pacers  have  actually  trotted  frac- 
tions of  miles  at  a  two-minute  gait,  and  I  see  no  reason  to  doubt  that 
the  trotter  will  yet  be  bred  that  can  sustain  that  rate  for  a  mile.  But 
no  horse,  tiioroughbred  or  trotter,  can  sustain  for  a  mile  the  speed  he 
can  show  for  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  and  when  we  see  the  two-minute 
trotter  he  will  be  a  horse  capable  of  trotting  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in 
from  twenty-six  to  twenty-eight  seconds. 

Whatever  may  be  the  views  of  the  reader  as  to  the  other  infiiiences 
of  the  trotting-track,  he  must  admit  that  it  has  been  the  chief  agency 
in  bringing  the  American  light-harness  horse  to  that  point  of  excel- 
lence which  he  has  now  reached.  The  love  of  the  turf  is  deeply 
rooted  in  America  as  well  as  in  England,  and  I  think  this  devotion  to 
"the  sport  of  kings"  is  greatly  due  to  the  knowledge  that  the  im- 
provement of  the  higher  kinds  of  horses  depends  mainly  upon  turf 
tests.  •'  It  is  certain,"  says  an  old  English  writer,  "  that  horse-racing 
was  the  means  of  converting  the  old  lumbering  horse  of  this  coujitry 
into  the  elegant,  graceful  and  pre-eminently  fleet  animal  of  .  .  . 
the  present  century." 

The  value  of  the  trotting-bred  horse  has  been  constantly  on  the 
increase,  until  now  the  breeding  business  is  a  vast  interest  to  which 
unlimited  capital  is  devoted.    That  the  trotter  should  be  in  America  a 


APPENDIX.  347 

more  valued  breed  than  bis  brother  aristocrat,  the  thoroughbred,  is 
natural.  If  the  thoroughbred  race-horse  fails  to  develop  the  speed, 
Btamiua  and  disposition  necessary  to  success  on  the  turf  he  is  almost 
worthless.  He  is  a  gooa  racing-machine  or  he  is  nothing.  But,  on 
the  other  hand,  the  trotter,  even  if  he  lacks  the  capacities  to  success 
on  the  turf,  is  still,  if  bred  wiselv,  valuable.  For  the  family  car- 
riage, for  the  park,  his  versatile  gifts  make  him  profitable,  even 
though  he  fails  on  the  turf.  Very  seldom  has  a  better  test  of  the 
relative  value  of  trotting  and  running  (or  thoroughbred)  horses  been 
offered  than  in  October,  1886,  when  two  great  breeding-studs,  one  of 
thoroughbred  and  the  other  of  trotting-horses,  were  dispersed  under 
the  hammer.  At  Louisville,  Kentucky,  the  late  John  C.  McFerran 
had  founded  and  established  the  Glenview  Stud,  which  rose  to  the 
front  rank  of  "nurseries  of  trotters,"  At  Jobstown,  Xew  Jersey, 
Mr.  Pierre  Lorillard's  Rancocas  Stud  of  thoroughbreds,  the  choicest 
in  the  land,  is  situated.  Dispersal  sales  were  held  of  these  famous 
collections  within  a  few  days  of  each  other,  and  the  following 
averages  were  realized: 

RANCOCAS    THOROUGHBREDS. 

Average  for  stallions $6,390.00 

Average  for  brood-mares 1.422.27 

Grand  average  for  stallions  and  brood-mares. . .   $1,721.62 

GLENVIEW   TROTTERS. 

Average  for  stallions $12,780.00 

Average  for  brood-mares 1,678.00 

Grand  average  for  stallions  and  brood-mares. . .   $2,238.75 

This  was  a  fair  test  in  1886,  but  it  does  not  represent  the  monetary 
supremacy  of  the  trotter  now,  for  it  is  an  absolutely  safe  assertion  to 
make  that  the  value  of  choice  trotting-blood  has  appreciated  twenty- 
five  per  cent,  in  the  past  three  years.  A  trotting-stallion,  Axtell,  has 
sold  for  $103,000;  Bell  Boy  sold  at  auction  for  $51,000,  and  Stambou) 
at  private  sale  for  $50,000.  These  prices  for  trotting-stallions  repre- 
sent the  highest  values  ever  reached  by  horses  of  any  type  in  America. 

In  this  sketch  the  writer  has  avoided  minute  treatment  of  either 
families  or  individual  horses,  or,  indeed,  any  of  the  details  of  the 
subject,  his  purpose  being  merely  to  sketch  in  a  general  way,  the 
foundation,  evolution,  and  progress  of  the  trotting-bred  horse. 

Leslie  E,  Macleod. 


INDEX. 


Abe  Edgington.  .96,  97,  98,  99, 

100,  110,  111 

Action 309 

Advantages  of  Miniature  Track, 

209,  210 

Albert  France 160,  161 

Alcazar 104 

Alert 159 

Amount  of  Work 222 

Annette 310 

Ansel 172 

Anselma , 114 

Arol 104 

Astral 104 

August  Haverstick 104,  147 

Axtell 163,  180 

Azmoor 172 

Babcock,  F.  G 79 

Balancing  and  Checking.  .217, 

218,  219 

Bay  Rose 162 

Beautiful  Bells 122 

Bell  Boy 170 

Belle  Brasfield 110,  111 

Belle  Hamlin 103,  144,  145 

Belmont  Family 328 

Benefit  of  Early  Work. .  .230, 

231,  232,  233 

Ben  Hur 104 

Bentonian 115 

Bermuda 104,  170 

Bet\yeen  Heats 290,  291 

Bitting 213 

Blancbard,  David  H 46,  48 

Blankets 261 

Blistering.    302 

Bodine..,, 55,  62,  63,  73,  74 

Body- Wash 258 

Bonlta. . .  .,101,  102,  120,  121,  122 

Boots 263,  264,  265 

Bran 252 


"  Break  and  Catch  " 235 

Break-Do\vn 300 

Breaking  to  Harness.  .212,  213, 

214,  215 

Breeding 308 

Broken-Down  Trotters 299 

Brood  -  Mares,    Form,    Action 

and  Size 310 

Brown,  Horace 160 

Browne,  IS.  A 170 

Brushing 224 

Burr,  Carl 113 

Caesar 23 

California  Climate 254,  255 

California  Grasses 255,  256 

Campaign  of  1885 102 

Campaign  of  1886 103 

Campaign  of  1887 104 

Capt.  Smith 101,  111,  112 

Carrie  C  101,  102,  103,  172 

Care  with  the  Mouth 234,  236 

Carlisle 104 

Castalia 104,  169 

Cavalry  Service 20 

Checking  and  Balancing.. 2 17,  218 

Charley  Hogan 160,  161 

Chimes. . .  .102,  103,  141,  170,  171 

Clay  (gelding) 101,  112 

Clay  (stallion) 227 

Clay,  C.  F 159,  160 

Cleveland,  Great  Race 54-72 

Clifton  Bell 104,  172 

Climatic  Conditions 238 

Clingstone 151 

Col.  Bowers = 156 

CoL  Lewis  100 

Com.  Perry 45 

Condition.*. 245,  246 

Condition  and  Speed 283 

Conley,  Col.  John  W 148 

...  36 


350 


INDEX. 


Cooling  Out 291 

Cracked  Food 252 

Cracked  Heels 302 

Curb 301 

Dame  Winnie 154,  310 

Daily  Programme  in  Training.  257 

Deck  Wright 104,  159 

Defiance 110 

Del  Mar 104 

Del  Sur 101,  111,  112 

Dexter 63 

Distemper 304 

Doble,  Budd.  „..51,  52,55,  57, 
61,  62,  63,  65,  68,  76,  109, 

110,  160 

Doc 108 

Driving 294,  295,  296,  297 

Driving  with,  a  Watch 283 

Eagle  Bird.  .103, 136,  137, 139, 

140,  148,  149,  150 
Earlv  Experiences  in  Training, 

30,  31 
Earlv  Training..  182,  183,  184 

185,  186,  187,  188,  189,  190,  191 

Easv  Driving 235 

Elaine 100, 112, 113, 114,  299 

Electioneer.. 81,    91,    99,    100, 

319,  320,  321,  322,  323,  324, 

325,  326 

Elvira 102,  167 

Emaline 104 

Endvmion 169 

Express 104 

Fannv  Witherspoon 282 

Fasig,  W.  B.,..., 171 

Feeding.. 251 

Feeding  Colts 211 

Feet,  Care  of. 268 

First  Lessons 201,  202 

First  Trotter 23 

Fleetv  Golddust 44 

Flooring 250 

Foal,  Treatment  of  the 193 

Foot,  Anatomy  of.. 272,  273,  274 

Form 309 

Fortuna 177 

Frank  Middleton. 156 


Four-year-old  Record  Lowered, 

122,  14a 

Fred  Crocker. 100,  115,  119 

Fred  Low 112 

Fuller,  George.  .136,  148,  149, 

150,  152,  306 
Fugue  124,126,  168 

Geneva 169 

Gen.  Benton.  .81,  89,  91,  100,  326 

Gen.  Buford 68 

George  M.  Patchen  Jr 328 

Gertrude  Russell 172 

Goldsmith  Maid.. 53,  55,  56, 
57,  62,  63,  64,  66,  69,  70,  71, 

73,  75,  109,  296 

Gould,  Levi  S .....173 

Granby 139 

Graves 101 

Great  Eastern 79 

Great  Race  at  Cleveland. . .  .54,  73 
Greenlander..l36,  139,  146.  147 
Green,  Chas.  . . .  44,  55,  57,  61,  63' 
Ground  Food 252 

Halter-Breaking 195 

Hamlin,  C.  J 41,  171,  172 

Harry  C 169 

Harry  Roberts , . .  .159,  160 

Helen 168 

Henry  W.  Genet 46,  47 

Herzog 68- 

Hickok,  Orrin 178 

Hinda  Rose... 101,  102,  103, 
119,  122,  123,  124,  125,  141. 

168,  226 

Hoods 261 

Hopeful 79 

Horses  in  Motion 94,  95 

Houston,  J.  B.  o 171 

Imitators 222 

Injuries  and  Ailments 298 

Iodine 300,  301 

Jay-Eye-See .102 

Joe  Brown 40 

Judge  Fullerton..51,  52,  53, 
54,  55,  56,  60,  61,  63,  64,  66, 
69,  70,  71,  73,  74,  78,  100,  110 


INDEX. 


351 


Johnston,  Peter  V 55 

Judgment  of  Pace .• . .  .295 

Lady  St.  Clair 108 

Latlirop,  Ariel 92 

Laving  Up  Heats  . .  .292,  293,  294 

Leading 196 

Leading  with  a  Runner.  .207,  208 

Legs,  Care  of 259,  269,  270 

Leg  Wash 269 

Libbv  S 160 

Light  Shoes 230 

Lillian  Wilkes 179 

Lily  Stanley 163 

Lorita 104 

Lucille  Golddust 55,  56,  57, 

61,  63,  64,  66,  69,  70,  73,  74 
Lucy  Fry 103,  156,  157 

Mabel  A 159 

Mace,  Dan. .  .46,  55,  60,  61,  63,  74 

McKinney,  H.  D 139 

Maiden • 104,  172 

Maidof  Clav 101,  111 

Mambrino  Gift.  .40,  41,  46,  47,  50 

Manzanita 102,  103,  104, 

132,  133,  134,  135,  136.  137, 
138,  139,  140,  141,  142,  143, 
144,  145,  146,  147,  148,  149, 

150,  151,  152,  153,  301 
Manzanita-Patron  Race. ..... .147 

Margaret  S 177, 179 

Marvin,  Chas.,  Biography.  .17,  27 

Marvin,  Mrs.  Charles 25 

Maybell...., 134 

Mav  Flower,  Dam  of  Manzan- 
ita  133,  134,  310 

Mav  Flv,  Dam  of  Bonita.  .121,  310 

Mav  Queen 310 

Miniature  Track.  .197,198,199,200 

Miss  Russell 104 

Mohawk  Chief 89,  90,  100 

Moor,  The 328 

Muzzles 261 

Natural  Gift,  The  Trainer's..  .223 

Nellie  Benton 102 

Nephew 327 

Nettie 36,  50 

Norlaine 114,  123,  165,  166 


Nerval 166,  167 

Nutbreaker 103,  104,  169,  170 

Nutwood 101,  329 

Occident 96,  97,  98,  99, 100, 

101,  108,  109,  110,  111,  299 
Old  Methods  of  Training.  .183, 184 

Overbreeding 317 

Overdoing  It 243 

Overwork 217 

Palo  Alto,  The  Stallion. . .  .102, 
103,  104,  132,  141,  143,  154, 
155,  156,  157,  158,  159,  160, 

161,  162,  299 

Palo  Alto  Svstem  Outlined 96 

Palo  Alto  Farm 81,  89,  92,  93 

Patron 104,  126,  132,  137, 

139,  140,   141,  147.  148,  149, 

150,  151 

Pedlar  104 

Phil  Sheridan 47 

Piedmont 326 

Pilot  Temple 40 

Preparation  for  Races.. 280, 281, 284 

Pride 123 

Princeton 103 

Pulling  and  Side-Pulling 236 

Quantrill's  Raid 20 

Quarter  Crack 305 

"  Quitters  " 137, 138,  139 

Race-Day 288 

Races,  Management  in. . .  .289, 

290,  291,  292,  293,  294 

Racing  in  the  Army 21,  22 

Rarus 296 

Reasons  for  Writing.- 29 

Regulating  Work 224 

Rexford 102,  104,  172 

Richmond,  A.  W 329 

Rubbers 262 

Rubbing  and  Cooling 258 

Russell,    Col.   H.  S. . .  .39,  42, 

43.  46,  48,  49,  55,  78,  79 

Saint  Bel. . .  .102, 103, 104, 127, 

128,  129,  130,  131,  141 
Saint  Clair 108,  120,  121,  327 


352 


INDEX. 


Saint  Julien 152 

Sale  of  Smuggler 39 

Sallie  Benton. . .  .102, 126,  167, 

168,  299 

Sam  Purdy 109 

Santa  Claus 113,  114 

Severe  Checks  and  Bits 281 

Shoeing. . .  272,  273,  274,  275, 

276,  277,  278 

Sheppard,  Dr 155 

Siblev,  J.  C 129 

Side-Pulling 236,  237 

Size  in  Brood-Mares 310 

Silverone 136,  137,  139,  140 

Smuggler 32-80,  299 

Soaking 270,  271 

Sontag  Mohawk 90,  310 

So  So 115 

Speed,  Speed,  More  Speed 225 

Speed  and  Gameness 240 

Sphinx 102,  103,  104,  169 

Splan,  John 282,  296 

Splints.. 307 

Sport 104 

Sprung  Tendons 307 

Stables  and  Stabling 248 

Stallion-Race  at  Boston 46 

Stallion-Race  at  Buffalo 40 

Stallion  Record  Lowered 53 

Stallions,  Form  and  Action  in.. 310 

Stamboul 163 

Stanford,  Hon.  Leland.  . .  .81, 
82,  83,  84,  85,  86.  87,  88.  89, 

90,  96,  97,  98,  99,  110,  173 

Stanford,  Leland,  Jr  102 

"S.  T.  H." 61 

Sweating  and  Scraping  Colts.  .221 

Sweetheart 116 

SudieD 123,  164 

Suisun.  ...103,  104,  141,  170,  171 
Sunol  ...104,    172,    173,    174, 

175,  176,  177,  178,  179,  180 
Sutherland  &  Benjamin 170 

Tempest 104 

Tender  Feet 306 

Thomas  Jefferson.. 40, 42,  46,  47,50 
Thoroughbreds  at  Palo  Alto. .   92 
Thoroughbred  -  Blood  in    the, 
Trotter..... 311 


Three-Year-Old   Record   Low- 
ered  125,  125 

Three- Year-Old,  Working  the, 

239,  240,  241 

Thrush 305 

Toe- Weights. . .  .226,  227,  266,  267 

Tom  Rogers 159 

Tracks 279,280 

Track- Work,  Beginning.. 216,  220 
Training  for  a  Race.. 284,  285,  286 

Training  Paddock 197,  198, 

199,  200 
Trial  Days    for    Brood-Mares, 

315,  316 
Trotting  -  Horse,     History     of 

the 331 

Time  of  Breeding 314,  315 

Turner,  J.  E 171 

Two  -  Year  -  Old  Record   Low- 
ered....116,  117,  119,   177, 

178,  180 

Van  Ness,  Frank 160,  161 

Ventilation  and  Light.  . .      . .  .250 

Vermont  Abdallah. 47 

Versailles  . , 68 

Vesolia 177 

Victor 103,  156 

Visit  to  Palo  Alto 81 

Wallace,  J.  H 173,  174 

Water 253,  254 

Waxana 174 

Waxv 173 

Weaving 193 

Weight 228,  229 

Wellesley  Boy 45 

Whip,  Use  and  Abuse  of 235 

Whitestockings 21 

Wildfiower....l01,    102,    118, 

119,  120 

Wild  Rake 170 

Wilton 103,  156,  157,  158 

Wilson,  W.  H 79 

Woodruff,  Hiram 182,  183 

Work,  Amount  of 242 

Working  in  Paddock 204, 

205,  206,  211 

Yearling  Record  Lowered. . .  .123 


■^"::■:■:i■r-,r^\■■^i■■:.■.'>^■f^:'•'A■■^ihin•^-■:^: 


:?:^- 


